Sep. 28, 2011 - Issue #832: Jennifer Castle
Death of a Salesman
Though you can certainly interpret the play as so much essay fodder, Baker suggests that the heart of the piece is much simpler.
"It's really about a father and son's relationship," he says. "I don't think I'm bending or reinventing the play, I think I'm going down to where the essence of the play is, in the human story. Any political or social statements that flow from that—and there are some—are not what we set out to do. They just are there."
When Baker was researching the play he was particularly struck by an interview with Miller on the play's one-year anniversary, in which Miller expressed disappointment that the character of the son Biff wasn't fully recognized in the production. "Everyone says it's Willy Loman's story, and it is, but it's only Willy Loman's story with Biff," he states. Knowing this, Baker chose to make the father-son relationship a primary focus, highlighting the two as foils that are completely necessary to one another.
Though Death of a Salesman is firmly set in the early 1950s—Baker explains that there were too many chronological references keeping the play from being reworked in a contemporary setting—the themes themselves are timeless.
"It's a family drama, and family dramas always remain relevant because we all have families—and we all experience those kinds of pressures," Baker states. "And as far as climbing the ladder of success, and parents having high expectations of their children, and children not wanting to necessarily conform to their parents' view of success—I think that is completely relevant and contemporary." V
Until Sun, Oct 16 (7:30 pm)
Directed by Bob Baker
Citadel Theatre, $51.45 –$82.95 vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
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