Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman

by Arthur Miller

live stage reading performed by Steven Culp, Maureen Flannigan, Jason Henning, Jane Kaczmarck, Stacy Keach, Sam McMurray, Kathryn Meisle, Tim Morrison, John Sloan, Kate Steele, and Kenneth Williams

Ⓟ 2011, L.A. Theatre Works

2.2 hours

Death of a Salesman is about Willy Loman, a traveling salesman who has worked hard all his life to create a legacy of greatness for his sons to emulate and build upon. This greatness rests not so much on education or cultivated intelligence, but upon a man's innate charisma which Willy believes can be parlayed into networking skills and a successful career (which in turn is measured by who you know.) However, neither of Willy's sons have lived up to his expectations and so the foundation upon which Willy has built his legacy bears examination. The inspection reveals cracks in Willy's ethics and is the substance of this American Tragedy. The idea of a father's legacy to his sons, more specifically the idea of the father doing his best to do what is best for his sons, was introduced in the interview with Michael Hackett, the director of The Man Who Had All the Luck and is a dominant theme in Death of a Salesman.

Whatever the original concept of Willy Loman's physicality was when Death of a Salesman was first written, the image has been "owned" by Lee J. Cobb since Cobb played Loman in the film adaptation in 1966. Since then, audiences expect a bear of a man, a brutish, forceful man to play the role; and if a director chooses to cast against the Cobb-type, criticism is sure to follow. In this regard, Stacy Keach does not disappoint. He is what the audiences want: a mans whose volume in voice is a measure of his will. Neither Keach or Jane Kaczmarck (as Linda Loman) are the most transparent of performers: Listeners will hear both of the actors before they hear the characters; but both actors deliver what the audience wants: assertive and emphatic performances.

See Also:

The Armchair Audies (Official Page)

The Armchair Audies: The Bad Employee/Bad Wife Edition (Post of Intent)

The Mark of Zorro (Audiobook Review)

The Graduate (Audiobook Review)

I, Claudius (Audiobook Review)

The Man Who Had All the Luck (Audiobook Review)

All My Sons (Audiobook Review)

Other Stuff: I purchased a library CD edition of The Arthur Miller Collection (by Arthur Miller; performed by various full casts) from PaperbackShopUS via the Amazon Marketplace. Death of a Salesman is the third play in the collection and is available for individual purchase in CD edition. I receive no monies, goods or services in exchange for reviewing the product and/or mentioning any of the persons or companies that are or may be implied in this post.