Playwright, essayist, and screenwriter Arthur Miller is best known for his extraordinary work on plays such as All My Sons, The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, and Death of a Salesman which have all become classics in the American Theatre.
Death of a Salesman premiered on Broadway in 1949 directed by Elia Kazan and starring Lee J. Cobb. It ran for 742 performances, was revived on Broadway five times, won three Tony Awards, and was made into a film in 1951 starring Fredric March. It is one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.
It’s the story of a traveling salesman named Willy Loman who is in his 60s and lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. during the 1940s. The themes of the play delve into living the American Dream, the definition of success, infidelity, parental expectations, loneliness, preserving dignity, and ageism in the workplace.
Willy, once the top salesman in his company, lapses into senility which is misunderstood by his family and his co-workers. He talks to himself, sees himself in the past, is frustrated by his former decisions, lashes out at his adoring and supportive wife, and becomes estranged from his sons.
In modern times, we would recognize this as dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease, but those afflictions were not well understood at the time the play was written.
Willy has always had to live on the edge financially and is dependent on his commissions to get by each month. They dwindle as he gets pushed aside by his younger peers. When he is offered a steady job, he declines it because of his pride.
CASA 0101 Theater’s production of Death of a Salesman has primarily a Latino cast
The production of Death of a Salesman at CASA 0101 Theater, is a premiere of the play in Boyle Heights, which is a working-class, immigrant community not unlike Brooklyn where the play takes place. The topics of struggle, achieving success in life despite obstacles, and generational estrangement are universal and relatable in this arena.
The cast was originally assembled by actor Robert Beltran and is polished and professional. Many of the actors have extensive credits. Corky Dominguez, who has been directing for over 40 years, took over as director and acknowledges Beltran’s contribution, writing that he is honored to walk in his footsteps. Death of a Salesman is a long and complicated play but this cast captivates the audience and keeps them engaged to the end.
Vance Valencia plays the pivotal role of Willy Loman with verve. His powerful voice projects strength and pathos. He is a tour-de-force in this role and inhabits the character of Willy truthfully and whole-heartedly.
Christine Avila is formidable as Willy’s devoted but underappreciated wife Linda who uneasily but obediently tolerates being told to be quiet by her narcissistic husband when she voices her opinion. She deeply loves him but is also in fear of the future and worries about him and her sons.
Willy edifies his oldest son Biff who was a former high school football star who struggles to make his way in the world. He pressures him to make something of himself but his advice is misguided. When Biff flunks out of math in high school preventing him from graduating, he takes the train to Boston where his father is working in hopes that he will fix it.
He discovers that his dad is having a romantic dalliance with a buyer for his company. This destroys the trust he has in his father and causes him to get fired from every job he had.
Eddie Diaz plays the argumentative and prideful Biff as a smoldering but pitiful character. He cannot bring himself to forgive his father although he is deeply concerned for him.
Adam Hollick energetically plays younger brother Happy who is the most congenial member of the family. He is more like his father than Biff but is often ignored and overlooked by him. Like his father, he believes in the theory that success comes from being well-liked. Having a good time is more important to him than achieving success so he is looked upon as not serious. He acts as a peacemaker to try to mend the divide between his brother and father, both of whom he loves and admires.
Jack Bernaz as Uncle Ben, Daniel E. Mora as Charley, Jared Trevino as Bernard, and Jeff Blumberg as Howard Wagner all give strong performances in their roles as do the rest of the supporting cast.
How does the play hold up in 2023?
Traveling salesmen like Willy Loman or Sheldon in Glengarry Glen Ross may be a thing of the past that younger people will not relate to, but the idea of growing old and looking back at life with regrets and being passed over by up-and-comers are issues that most of us deal with at some point. The play is still powerful and stands up with time.
CASA 0101 Theater 2102 1st Street, Los Angeles, California 90033 – 323.263.7684 info@casa0101.org – Find out what is currently playing here.
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