[NoHo Arts District, CA] – A NoHo Arts theatre review of “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, produced by Emmanuel Deleage, Brown Fist Productions, MariaElena Yepes and David Reyes, directed by Corky Dominguez at Casa 0101 Theater through July 16.
The sublime “Death of a Salesman” is perhaps Arthur Miller’s most famous work. It won the Pulitzer Prize, and a Tony Award and has sold 11 million copies of the published play.
The plot revolves around Willy Loman, a traveling salesman who is rapidly aging out of his trade. Exhausted by decades on the road and a landscape that has changed dramatically over the years. Old contacts either retired or dead, Loman is being outsold and out-manoeuvred by younger salesmen, and the small stores in small towns he sold to are being replaced by department stores making destination shopping the latest thing to customers with their own cars to take them there.
His long-suffering wife worries and his two sons don’t have the drive he did when he was their age out of necessity. He recognizes the end of his cycle and dreads retirement, gardening, and the loss of the glamour of the road. He also spends much of his time in his head, reliving pivotal moments, moments of great regret. Sometimes the reliving bleeds out into the present and he has conversations with his memories…out loud. This disturbs those around him, particularly his family, but also his boss, the son of his former boss, who fires him for his strange behaviour, happy to be rid of a dinosaur and a reminder of the past.
So we find them all here, in this in between. The sons, Biff and Happy, always trying to please the old man, always falling short of his wildly unachievable expectations of them. Loman’s wife Linda is the heart of the family and yet Willy is dismissive, cruel even, jealous perhaps of her effortless kindness. It’s a downward spiral and a phenomenal portrait of a slowly drowning man. A man who wonders often how much more he’s worth dead than alive…literally. His life insurance being enough to keep Linda comfortable in her waning years and enough to give his sons a start in life.
This is a play about the illusion of the American dream. How creating unattainable goals only brings misery to most, rather than inspiration, and how we find failure so much easier to see within ourselves than success.
To honor such an iconic play requires actors who can meet these roles head on. Ignoring decades of ingenious casts and the shadow of such greats as George C. Scott, Dustin Hoffman and Philip Seymour Hoffman. But truthfully, this cast is very, very impressive. They capture the angst, the sadness, the frustration, the pain and that indefinable, heavy feeling that something bad is about to happen. The wait always far more difficult than the ultimate end.
They are all brilliant. They are lost in this play, immersed in these lives. Completely in tune with the themes and the world Miller created for them. I was told that the set is almost identical to the original set designed for the very first mounting of the play. It works perfectly, the slight alterations in between scenes taking us to moments in Willy’s dissolving mind, a memory reanimated within the walls of his house, his office, a restaurant. Like windows opening and closing. This Willy, played superbly by Vance Valencia, is a man of his time. Aching to be better in every way he deems important and by doing so missing everything that truly is.
Casa 0101 Theater’s “Death of a Salesman” is a wonderful, fully realized and vividly directed production of an absolute masterpiece. Bravo!!
Tickets:
When:
“Death of a Salesman” runs through July 16, Fridays & Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm.
Where:
CASA 0101 Theater
2102 E 1st St Los Angeles, CA 90033
The Cast:
Vance Valencia as Willy Loman. Christine Avila as Linda Loman, Eddie Diaz as Biff Loman, Adam Hollick as Happy Loman, Jack Bernaz as Uncle Ben Loman, Daniel E. Mora as Charley, Jared Treviño as Bernard, Leah Verrill as The Woman, Jeff Blumberg as Howard Wagner, Chloe Diaz as Jenny, Gor Leo Babakhanyan as Stanley, Kriss Dozal as Miss Forsythe and Mariana Campos as Letta.
Production:
Josefina López, Founding Artistic Director, CASA 0101 Theater; Emmanuel Deleage, Producer and Executive Director, CASA 0101 Theater; MariaElena Yepes Producer, Brown Fist Productions; David Reyes Producer, Brown Fist Productions; Corky Dominguez, Director; Marco De León Set Designer; Kevin E. Vasquez Lighting Designer; Abel Alvarado Costume Designer; Ari Rich Stage Manager; Max Brother CASA 0101 Theater Technical Director and Sound Designer; Andy James Garcia Props Master; Mark Kraus, CASA 0101 Theater Development Director and Webmaster; Itzel Anahi CASA 0101 Theater Office Administrator and Graphic Designer; Conrado TerrazasCross Development Consultant; Al Aguilar Production Assistant; Rosa Navarrete, CA Social Media; Soap Studio Inc., Playbill Design; Rudy Torres Production Photographer and Steve Moyer Public Relations.