A View from the Bridge at the Kennedy Center
Thomas Jay Ryan feels Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge speaks to the fear of “the other”
During one scene in A View from the Bridge, protagonist Eddie Carbone kisses a boy.
“I’m telling you, the audience gasps when that happens,” says Thomas Jay Ryan. “In fact, I hate to say it, but sometimes they go, ‘Ugh.’”
Before the kiss, Carbone tries “to turn everybody against this immigrant boy,” says Ryan, who plays narrator Alfieri in the Kennedy Center’s production. “He mocks the boy for being able to cook, for singing, for sort of effeminate qualities as he observes them.” While the kiss is more of a bullying tactic than a sign of latent sexuality, that Carbone is also revealed to be having sexual problems with his wife compounds the mystery.
“Back in the day it was seen as an act of aggression,” Ryan says. “But now all my friends who see the play, it opens up all these questions…. I think we look at something like that slightly differently now than we would have in the ’50s or ’60s.”
The 2016 Tony-winning revival of A View from the Bridge is the second Arthur Miller play Ryan has starred in this year. His first was The Crucible, with avant-garde Belgian director Ivo van Hove directing both productions. “I really would crawl through broken glass to work with him on pretty much anything he wants,” Ryan says. A View from the Bridge marks the first time van Hove’s work has been staged in Washington, and Ryan isn’t understating the significance of the work he has created. “I think it’s one of the most important productions of a Miller play in the last 25 years.”
The play’s relevance is further enhanced by van Hove’s “outsider” view of a small American community, particularly focusing on immigration and a threat of “the other.” “He really sees the play through the eyes of the immigrant boys,” he says.
When he’s not focused on narrating Carbone’s life, Ryan’s attention turns to the audience in the Eisenhower Theater. “Part of my excitement of working in Washington has always been because I’m always wondering if somebody from the political world is going to come to see my play,” he says. “We just finished in L.A. — I didn’t care about any of those people coming to see my play. I don’t care if Ariana Grande comes to see it. Who gives a shit? I care if we get Nancy Pelosi.” –Doug Rule
A View From The Bridge opens Friday, Nov. 18 and runs to Dec. 3 at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater. Tickets are $45 to $149. Call 202-467-4600 or visit kennedy-center.org.
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