All My Sons at Huntington Theatre Company
Arthur Miller Classic Through Feb. 7
By: Ariel Petrova - Dec 08, 2009
"David Esbjornson was Arthur Miller's director of choice late in life, staging the premieres of his last two plays," says the Huntington's Artistic Director Peter DuBois. "David's instincts with Arthur's language and his characters are extraordinary. He'll bring a singular perspective to Miller's earliest masterpiece."
All My Sons is the story of family man and small business owner Joe Keller in the years following World War II. Keller continues to strive for the American Dream, despite being shaken by both the public shame of his company's sale of faulty airplane parts to the government and the personal tragedy of his son who went missing-in-action. His wife Kate is trapped by her grief, while their elder son Chris yearns to move forward. When Chris announces his plan to marry his absent brother's fiancée, Kate must confront her denial of the war's fatalities, Chris his father's fallibility and moral compromises, and Joe his true responsibilities to his family and to his country.
"One of the reasons the play succeeds is because all of the characters want something desperately," Esbjornson says. "All My Sons is really not about whether someone has done something wrong, but about denial. There are no obvious villains here, just people who are afraid, who have made really bad choices and then tried to run away from them. These characters are each in conflict, caught in a self-made purgatory." Esbjornson adds, "most of the actors in the cast are from the Boston area. It's really going to be a thrill for me to get to know this pool of actors."
The themes of the play were extremely important to Miller long after he completed All My Sons. Esbjornson suggests, "I think Arthur understood that there is nothing more insidious or ultimately more destructive than when patriotism and profit become aligned. That was something that followed him right up until the end of his life. He would visit Washington all the time to make speeches about this and continued to write editorials. He was very active in that way in trying to fight these forces and let people know that these issues were still very much alive."
Arthur Miller's (Playwright) plays include Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, A Memory of Two Mondays, After the Fall, Incident at Vichy, The Price, The Creation of the World and Other Business, The Archbishop's Ceiling, The American Clock, Playing for Time, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, The Last Yankee, Broken Glass, Mr. Peters' Connections, Resurrection Blues, and Finishing the Picture. Other works include the novel Focus, the film The Misfits, and the texts for In Russia, In the Country, and Chinese Encounters, created in collaboration with his wife, photographer Inge Morath. Memoirs include Salesman in Beijing and Timebends. Short fiction includes the collection "I Don't Need You Anymore" and the novella "Homely Girl, A Life And Other Stories." His numerous awards include two New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, two Emmy Awards, four Tony Awards, including one for Lifetime Achievement, and the Pulitzer Prize.
David Esbjornson (Director) worked with Arthur Miller on Miller's final two premiere productions: The Ride Down Mt. Morgan starring Patrick Stewart at The Public Theater and on Broadway, and the world premiere of Resurrection Blues at the Guthrie Theater. He is the former artistic director of Seattle Repertory where he directed premieres of Ariel Dorfman's Purgatorioi, Kevin Kling's How? How? Why? Why?, and the first major revival of Edward Albee's The Lady from Dubuque. Other recent works include Hamlet for Theater For A New Audience, the premiere of Peter Parnell's Trumpery, The Great Gatsby at the Guthrie Theater, the Theatre Royal Haymarket's production of A Few Good Men by Aaron Sorkin, and the world premieres of Tuesdays with Morrie by Jeffrey Hatcher and Mitch Albom and In the Blood by Suzan-Lori Parks at The Public Theater. He has had a long-standing relationship with Edward Albee directing the Tony Award-winning play The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, The Play about the Baby at the Century Theatre, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.
"David is an extraordinary director," Miller told the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2001. "He's got a strong structural sense and a lovely way with actors – he makes them very confident and gets the best out of them. He also has a strong design sense, which is very important. On the whole, he's one of the best directors I've ever worked with."
The Huntington's season of American stories is the first in the Company's 27-year history comprised entirely of shows by American writers. The plays of the season relate to one another through stories of opportunities lost and found, of intergenerational struggles and successes, and of the most intimate and meaningful relationships. Drawn from some of the best writing the country has to offer, the Huntington is engaging its audience in a season-long conversation about issues of race, class, values, and a shared American experience. "This season at the Huntington, we are taking on a range of compelling American writing," says DuBois. "Each production offers us a singular point of view about the American experience, and I'm very excited by the diverse perspectives these artists bring."
THE CAST
Will Lyman leads the cast as patriarch Joe Keller. He last appeared at the Huntington in Dead End and is familiar to Boston audiences for his work with Boston Playwrights' Theatre (The Oil Thief, King of the Jews, A Girl's War), Commonwealth Shakespeare Company (Claudius, Prospero, Brutus), SpeakEasy Stage Company (The Wrestling Patient with BPT, The Dying Gaul), Wheelock Family Theatre (To Kill A Mockingbird), and New Repertory Theatre (Exits and Entrances, Clean House, The Ice-Breaker). He has performed regionally with the Denver Center, Hartford Stage, Pennsylvania Center Stage, American Place Theatre, and others.
Karen MacDonald returns to the Huntington as Kate Keller after recently appearing in A Civil War Christmas as Mary Todd Lincoln and others. A founding member of the American Repertory Theater, she appeared in seventy productions there, most recently as Arkadina in The Seagull, Nell in Endgame, and Lottie in Trojan Barbie. She has also acted in and directed productions for Gloucester Stage Company, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Boston Playwrights' Theatre, and many others.
Lee Aaron Rosen makes his Huntington debut as the Kellers' son Chris. New York credits include A Contemporary American's Guide to a Successful Marriage (FringeNYC), Wet (Summer Play Festival), and Frankenstein (La Mama E.T.C.). He has appeared regionally with CenterStage, Westport Country Playhouse, Ford's Theatre, Barrington Stage Company, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.
Diane Davis makes her Huntington debut as Ann. She has appeared on Broadway in Festen and Old Acquaintance and Off Broadway in Regrets Only, Bonnie and Clyde: A Folk Tale, and The Young Left. Regional appearances include Hartford Stage, Center Theater Group, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.
The cast also includes:
* Stephanie DiMaggio (roles at Williamstown Theatre Festival) as Lydia Lubey, the Kellers' neighbor;
* Owen Doyle (Mister Roberts and Picasso at the Lapin Agile at New Repertory Theatre, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Lyric Stage Company) as Frank Lubey;
* Ken Cheeseman (Abraham Lincoln and others in the Huntington's A Civil War Christmas, Off Broadway in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Measure for Measure at The Public Theater/NYSF) as Doctor Bayliss;
* Dee Nelson (The Maiden's Prayer and two productions of A Christmas Carol at the Huntington, roles at Merrimack Repertory Theatre and North Shore Music Theatre) as Sue Bayliss; and
* Michael Tisdale (The Secret Agenda of Trees for New York City's The Wild Project, The Private Lives of Eskimos for The Committee) as Ann's brother George.
Andrew Cekala (Underground Railway Theater, Reagle Players) and Spencer Evett (Actor's Shakespeare Project, New Repertory Theatre) each make their Huntington debuts, alternating in the roles of Bert.
PRODUCTION ARTISTS
The creative team for All My Sons includes scenic designer Scott Bradley (Journey to the West, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Ah! Wilderness! for the Huntington; Joe Turner's Come and Gone – 1988 Drama Desk Award nomination, Seven Guitars – 1996 Drama Desk Award and Tony Award nomination); costume designer Elizabeth Hope Clancy (Passing Strange, Edward Albee's The Goat or, Who is Sylvia?, Bobbi Boland, and The Ride Down Mt. Morgan on Broadway), lighting designer Christopher Akerlind (Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for The Light In The Piazza; Tony Award nominations for 110 In The Shade and Awake and Sing!), and sound designer and composer John Gromada (Well, Rabbit Hole, and Carol Mulroney at the Huntington; Dividing the Estate, A Bronx Tale, Prelude to a Kiss, and many more for Broadway). Production stage manager is Carola Morrone; stage manager is Leslie Sears.
SPONSORS
The Huntington's Grand Patron is Boston University. The 2009-2010 Season Sponsor is J. David Wimberly.
CRITICAL ACCLAIM
"A commanding illustration of the power of theatre and a searing drama of morality and conscience that has as much to say to America now as it did in 1947." –Variety
"With All My Sons, the theatre has acquired a genuine new talent. Arthur Miller brings something fresh and exciting into the drama. He has written an honest, forceful drama. Told against the single setting of an ordinary American backyard, it is a pitiless analysis of character that gathers momentum all evening and concludes with both logic and dramatic impact." – The New York Times (original production)
ABOUT THE HUNTINGTON
The Huntington Theatre Company is Boston's largest and most popular theatre company, hosting 64 Tony Award-winning artists, garnering 36 Elliot Norton Awards, and sending over a dozen shows to Broadway since its founding in 1982. In July 2008, Peter DuBois became the Huntington's third artistic leader and works in partnership with longtime Managing Director Michael Maso. In residence at and in partnership with Boston University, the Huntington is renowned for presenting seven outstanding productions each season, created by world-class artists and the most promising emerging talent, and reaching an annual audience of over 136,000. The company has premiered plays by Pulitzer Prize, Academy Award, and Tony Award-winning luminaries such as August Wilson and Tom Stoppard, as well as rising local literary stars such as Melinda Lopez and Ronan Noone. The Huntington has transferred more productions to Broadway than any other theatre in Boston, including the Broadway hit and Tony Award-winner Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps. In 2004, the Huntington opened the state-of-the-art Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, which includes 370-seat and 200-seat theatres to support the company's new works activities and to complement the company's 890-seat, Broadway-style main stage, the Boston University Theatre. The Huntington is a national leader in the development and support of new plays, producing more than 50 New England, American, or world premieres in its 27-year history. The Huntington's nationally-recognized education programs have served more than 200,000 middle school and high school students in individual and group settings and community programs bring theatre to the Deaf and blind communities, the elderly, and other underserved populations in the Greater Boston area.
PRODUCTION CALENDAR and RELATED EVENTS
All My Sons
By Arthur Miller
Directed by David Esbjornson
The Huntington's production of All My Sons plays 34 performances, including 4 preview performances. Related pre- and post-show events are free with ticket purchase to any performance. Post-show conversations, led my members of the Huntington's Artistic staff, will follow all performances indicated with a [*}.
Fri., January 8 at 8pm*
Sat., January 9 at 8pm*
Sun., January 10 at 7pm*
Tues., January 12 at 7:30pm Sneak Preview, pre-show at 6:30pm
Wed., January 13 at 7pm Opening/Press Review Night
Thurs., January 14 at 7:30pm Post-show Out & About Club Reception (GLBT) –
$40 ticket available with code "OUT"
Fri., January 15 at 10am and 8pm* Student Matinee 10am, followed by Actors Forum
Sat., January 16 at 2pm* and 8pm
Sun., January 17 at 2pm Humanities Forum with Susan Abbottson, Asst. Prof. of
Modern and Contemporary Drama at Rhode Island College.
Wed., January 20 at 2pm* and 7:30pm*
Thurs., January 21 at 7:30pm Actors Forum
Fri., January 22 at 8pm*
Sat., January 23 at 2pm* and 8pm Audio-Described 2pm performance
Sun., January 24 at 2pm* and 7pm
Tues., January 26 at 7:30pm*
Wed., January 27 at 7:30pm*
Thurs., January 28 at 10am and 7:30pm* Audio-Described and American Sign Language-Interpreted
Student Matinee 10am, followed by Actors Forum
Fri., January 29 at 8pm*
Sat., January 30 at 2pm* and 8pm
Sun., January 31 at 2pm*
Tues., February 2 at 7:30pm*
Wed., February 3 at 2pm and 7:30pm* Actors Forum following the 2pm performance
Thurs., February 4 at 7:30pm*
Fri., February 5 at 8pm* American Sign Language-Interpreted performance
Sat., February 6 at 2pm* and 8pm
Sun., February 7 at 2pm
Tuesday, January 12, 6:30pm (preceding the 7:30pm performance)
Sneak Preview
Hear from participating directors, designers, and/or artistic staff about the production.
Thursday, January 14, following the 7:30pm performance
Out & About Club
Join GLBT audience members at a post-show party. Use code OUT to purchase discounted tickets to this performance online.
Sunday, January 17, following the 2pm performance at the Boston University Theatre
Humanities Forum
A post-performance talk featuring Susan Abbottson, Assistant Professor of Modern and Contemporary Drama at Rhode Island College.
Friday, January 15, following the 10am performance; Thursday, January 18, following the 10am performance; Thursday, January 21, following the 7:30pm performance; and Wednesday, February 3, following the 2pm performance
Actors Forum
Participating members of the cast answer questions.
Saturday, January 23, 2pm performance; Thursday, January 28, 10am performance
Audio-Described
For our blind and low-vision patrons. Braille programs available. For more information, call 617 273-1558.
Thursday, January 28 10am performance and Friday, February 5 8pm performance
American Sign Language-Interpreted
For Deaf and hard-of-hearing audience members. For more information, call 617 273-1558.
Ongoing–
Post-Show Conversations
New this season, the Huntington offers post-show audience conversations with members of the Artistic Department after all Tuesday-Friday, Saturday matinee, and Sunday matinee performances. Free with a ticket to the performance.
Ongoing–
American Stories Contest: Share your American Story
The Huntington Theatre Company's 2009-2010 Season features seven windows into the American experience by American writers, and is filled with American stories. Join us by sharing your American story and enter to win VIP tickets to each of our opening night performances and post-show cast parties throughout the season. Enter in either category: 18 and under or General. We'll name a winner from each per show, and a Grand Prize winner for the year.
Create a video or write an essay response to the following question – or simply tell us your American story. Send it with your name, address, and phone number to contest@huntingtontheatre.org. All entries will be posted on the Huntington's blog and winners will be featured in our monthly e-newsletter.
During All My Sons, Chris Keller comes to view his father Joe in a new way because of their differing values. What are the most important life lessons and values you learned from your parents? What do you hope to pass on to your children?