In its 25 years of existence, Palm Beach Dramaworks has gradually altered its emphasis toward the development of new work. But seeing its current, emotionally shattering production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman reminds us that what it does best is tackle the major classics of the American theater, particularly the Pulitzer Prize winners.
Seventy-five years ago, Miller brought to the stage the tragic saga of Willy Loman, a travelling salesman who spent his life “riding on a smile and a shoeshine,” only to find that the world stopped smiling back at him.
He was a believer in the American Dream, but was only able to eke out a meager living and barely provide for his wife Linda and his two sons, Biff and Happy. Instead of the implied dream, Willy found his end-of-life existence to be more of a nightmare. And ultimately — spoiler alert, though the play’s resolution is contained in its title — he came to believe that he was worth more to his family dead than alive.
Most tragedies revolve around a high-born figure, yet Miller purposely set out to focus on a “low man,” an Everyman to whom the post-World War II Broadway theatergoer could more easily relate. The proof of his success is in the way an audience in 2024 can still empathize so profoundly with Willy and the Lomans.
Willy may be a humble hawker of unspecified wares, but the role is one of the towering challenges of the modern theatrical era. Originated by Lee J. Cobb, the part has famously been undertaken by Dustin Hoffman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brian Dennehy and, last season on Broadway, Wendell Pierce in an African-American recasting.
At Dramaworks, frequent supporting player Rob Donohoe steps up to embody the role, from his first, stoop-shouldered entrance, lugging his sample cases, through flashbacks to his early days of optimistic promise that turn into mental confusion and anguish. It is a performance for which, as the oft-quoted phase puts it, “attention must be paid.”
While Willy is the fulcrum of the work, his family is a crucial element, reflecting his increasing despair and disillusionment. Director J. Barry Lewis has cast them well with PBD newcomers and orchestrates them expertly, from a slow-simmering ensemble in the first act through to the eventual dramatic combustion. Helena Ruoti is particularly vivid as Linda, Willy’s fiercely loyal helpmate, dressing down her grown sons for their lack of appreciation for their father’s sacrifices.
As we first see elder son Biff, Michael Shenefelt is a confident high school football star, with his own dreams of following in Willy’s footsteps, but his drive turns to disillusion as he discovers his father’s flaws. His younger brother Happy (Ty Fanning) is all ebullience, as his name suggests, which makes his dismissal in Willy’s eyes all the more painful.
With the play’s “time bends” — to use another signature Miller phrase — the rest of the cast comes in and out of view, all seen in Willy’s memories. Among the standouts are Tom Wahl as Willy’s older brother Ben, whose entrepreneurial spirit led to financial success, Harrison Bryan as a young eager beaver who matures into an accomplished attorney and, in a rare onstage appearance, producing artistic director William Hayes as Willy’s ever-patient longtime friend Charley.
Anne Mundell’s skeletal scenic design allows the production to move about in time and space, aided by the shadowy lighting of Kirk Bookman. And Joshua Lubben’s original underscoring, often rendered by a melancholy piano, is a welcome mood enhancement.
Written before television lessened audience attention spans, Death of a Salesman runs two-and-three-quarter hours. Wordy perhaps by today’s standards, but these are great words and a great play. Theater to think about indeed.
DEATH OF A SALESMAN, Palm Beach Dramaworks, 201 Clematis St., West Palm Beach. Through Sun., April 14. $89. Call 561-514-4042 or visit palmbeachdramaworks.org.
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