"Death of a Salesman"

Fear not, I will still go to some theater, just not 4 to 6 plays each month!  After all, I spent last season going to over 60 productions in the DC, Maryland, Virginia region--learning my way around dozens of theater companies and experiencing well over 100 mostly amazing actors.  Not to use what I've learned to make discriminating choices would be a waste.

The first event of a normal theater season was "Death of a Salesman" at Ford's Theatre in DC. You have to admire this work. It holds up well against the march of time. (I think better than the works of Tennessee Williams, for example.) But then again, growing old and facing one's demons is probably a theme that will always work on the stage.

For this production, Ford's chose a stellar cast of trustworthy familiar faces. The only one of the four principles new to me was Kimberly Schraf. Like the other four members of the Loman clan, she delivered an adequate performance in a role with a lot of wallpaper moments. I felt she hit her zenith in the scene where she confronts her sons Biff (Thomas Keegan) and Hap (Danny Gavigan). And I was lost in her closing soliloquy--the apex of the entire show. It lacked the sense of personal engagement in the words and came off more like a closing whimper. Both Mr.'s Gavigan and Keegan were fine as the brothers--these two actors have been in so many major regional productions, it was interesting to finally see them together on stage in such intertwined roles. The leader of the pack was Craig Wallace as Willy Loman. Wallace is another fixture in the regional theater community and no stranger to the Ford's stage. I suppose for some the fact that Craig is African American would make his portrayal of the icon Willy Loman, but it didn't see revelatory to me in the least. He's a very competent actor with an underlying inextinguishable boyish charm. A fact that left the tragic protagonist in this production with as much the pity you feel for a lost child and you would for a grown man who's summation of his life is that of a failure. I want to believe this was an intentional take on the character; however, I've come to accept that most theatre is not that subtle.

Linda Loman (Kimberly Schraf) comforting Willy (Craig Wallace) in a moment of confusion.

Linda Loman confronting her sons Hap (Danny Gavigan) and Biff (Thomas Keegan) about their attitudes toward their father.

All the Lomans together.

A moment of flashback with the ghostly presence of Uncle Ben (Frederick Strother)

Another shout out goes to the set designed by Tim Mackabee. I had a front row center balcony seat and it was the best seat in the house for this tri-level staging. Anyone who was seeing this show for the first time would certainly come away feeling satisfied by the production. Someone who felt more inclined to consider the deeper meanings of the character's lives and roles in the storytelling might feel less sanguine.

Tim Mackabee sharing the design concept during production process.

The view from the main floor.  

My vantage point from my seat in the front row of the balcony.