Last Weekend to Catch Miller at Arena
Anyone lucky enough to see Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and A View from the Bridge
consecutively (and thanks to Arena’s Arthur Miller Festival, you can) immediately will notice this seminal contemporary playwright’s unblinking fascination with middle-aged men imploding like dying stars. The plots may be different, the characters diverse, but each play nevertheless offers a man discovering, with catastrophic personal consequences, that he is completely at odds with his world. Without anchors of self-knowledge, these men have nowhere to go but down and as they begin to unravel, Miller explores their effect on everyone within emotional grabbing distance -- the wives, the friends, even the on-lookers, but most especially the children on the cusp of emancipation. And thus Miller’s genius: although these plays are ostensibly about two deeply traditional men from the 1950s, they are so rich with the dynamic of families and the universal agony of just "getting it wrong,” they remain edgy, current and extremely riveting. Despite the strengths of Salesman (Four Stars), View (Five Stars), it must be said, is the better of the two productions. With a reconfigured ensemble, director Daniel Aukin creates a phenomenal piece of high-tension drama. It is a story executed with unprecedented unity and shared vision. Everyone is on board and it is a stunning ride. In Rep through May 18. Arena Stage, 1800 S. Bell St., Crystal City. Tickets are $47 to $66. Call 202-488-3300 or visit www.arenastage.org. Read the full review by Kate Wingfield.
consecutively (and thanks to Arena’s Arthur Miller Festival, you can) immediately will notice this seminal contemporary playwright’s unblinking fascination with middle-aged men imploding like dying stars. The plots may be different, the characters diverse, but each play nevertheless offers a man discovering, with catastrophic personal consequences, that he is completely at odds with his world. Without anchors of self-knowledge, these men have nowhere to go but down and as they begin to unravel, Miller explores their effect on everyone within emotional grabbing distance -- the wives, the friends, even the on-lookers, but most especially the children on the cusp of emancipation. And thus Miller’s genius: although these plays are ostensibly about two deeply traditional men from the 1950s, they are so rich with the dynamic of families and the universal agony of just "getting it wrong,” they remain edgy, current and extremely riveting. Despite the strengths of Salesman (Four Stars), View (Five Stars), it must be said, is the better of the two productions. With a reconfigured ensemble, director Daniel Aukin creates a phenomenal piece of high-tension drama. It is a story executed with unprecedented unity and shared vision. Everyone is on board and it is a stunning ride. In Rep through May 18. Arena Stage, 1800 S. Bell St., Crystal City. Tickets are $47 to $66. Call 202-488-3300 or visit www.arenastage.org. Read the full review by Kate Wingfield.
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The 
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