Word: loman
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Miller depicts what he calls "the tragedy of the working class" in Willy Loman (Hal Holbrook), a salesperson whose idealism leads him to ignore his status as an insignificant cog in the American economic machine. Even when his favorite son, Biff (Matt Mulhern), confronts him with this reality as his wife Linda (Elizabeth Franz) watches in tears, Willy refuses to acknowledge his mediocrity...
...story revolves around Willy Loman, an aging travelling salesman whose pipe dreams haven't come true. His dream was to live the lore of the salesman on the road, known and loved wherever he travelled. Instead, he has lived the reality of a mediocre selling career with constant indebtedness while trying to conceal it all from his family with fantastical salesman's pitches. Realizing the imminence of his own failure, Willy has tried to vicariously live his dream through his oldest son, Biff, The audience enters the story when Biff, in his thirties, has failed to live...
Deena Mazer plays Linda Loman sweetly andendearingly. The audience is make to love her andfinds it wrenching to see her sitting on stage infearful silence during Willy's fantasticalcavortings...
...weakness of the play and, perhaps, theproduction can be seen in Linda Loman's silencesin the moments in which she is heartlessly told byher husband to "Stop interrupting!" "Death of aSalesman" was important for certain reasons whenit was written in 1945. But the passage of timehas limited its relevance, or perhaps it would bemore appropriate to say that the play isinadequately prepared for passage through time. Itno longer appeals, if it ever did, to a diverseaudience...
...largeenough audience and a diverse enough sensibilityfor the '90s. In their program, the Nora assertsthat '...have sought out plays that jostle ourhearts and minds and have attempted to producethem in ways that reveal our common humanity." Butthe "common humanity" is not adequatedlyrepresented in the "Everyman" characterized byWilly Loman. At most, then, this well-doneproduction of a bland play can only remind us,true to its intention, that the theatrical spacesometimes is meant for bland characters and blandstories. Despite the well-intentioned attempts ofthe theatrical setting to include the entireaudience in the story, the script only allows forlimited inclusion