Oct. 05, 2011 - Issue #833: Fall Style 2011
Death of a Salesman
No surprise endings
Admittedly, Death of a Salesman is a safe choice for kicking off the Citadel's mainstage series. The play was recognized from its inception as a remarkable piece of drama; it has been studied extensively for decades by academics and grade-school kids alike.
If this particular performance feels protracted, it is not the fault of the actors, as each of them provides an astute rendering of their respective characters. Tom Wood does a particularly outstanding job as Willy Loman, deftly shouldering the weight of every scene on his stooped shoulders. Willy's increasingly agitated shifts between present reality and past memory become almost excruciating to watch; bearing witness to Willy's spiral toward his inevitable demise is what makes this play so compelling and, simultaneously, so frustrating.
These shifts are punctuated by changes in staging: wispy tree-like forms are lowered at the sides of the stage to indicate the shift from reality to fantasy, a device that artfully exemplifies the script's references to the elms that once surrounded the Lomans' now tenement-encircled house, as well as the forest encroaching on Willy's mind.
Death of a Salesman is firmly set in the 1950s, yet there is a real relevance to the contemporary. The play revolves around the timeless conflict between father and son: one's recognition of fallibility in the other and the resulting crisis of reconciling ideal to actuality. Because of this, the play feels cathartic, especially to those who have dealt first-hand with an aging relative; there is no simple solution to any familial conflict, and any aforementioned glimmers of hope are only our own futile desires. 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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