If you are
familiar with the work of playwright Arthur Miller, you will not want to miss
Sierra Rep’s latest production, “All My Sons.”
If you do not know Miller, you have a perfect opportunity to sample the
work of one of the greatest writers America has produced. When you leave the theater after this show,
you will realize that you have been touched by something deep in the human
spirit. You will have understood the way we grapple with tough choices that
strain our personal integrity.
It is 1947,
and we meet the Keller family in a lushly green Midwestern backyard. A phenomenally realistic set immediately
draws us in --- the homey bungalow seen from the rear, a wide back porch, a
swing under a tree, a rose-covered trellis, stone-encircled flower beds, and
tree branches that extend from the wings, lit in a way that gives depth and
dimension to every scene. When the
lights first go down, we hear a strong wind, and when they come back up, a
sapling has been broken in two.
Photo Rich Miller
This young
apple tree was planted about nine months ago to commemorate Larry, the son who
was a fighter pilot and was lost during the war. Larry’s presence is strong in
the play for a character who never appears.
His older brother Chris, played beautifully by Michael Hampton, also
went to war but returned, and seems to cover up his pain with good humor and
optimism. Not only did he survive his
brother but also most of the men in the company that he led. Now he wants to
get together with his brother’s fiancée Ann, played by Alyson Lindsay, and has
invited her for a visit.
Thus begins
the conflict. Kate, the mother who lost
her son, cannot face that he is truly dead. Maybe he is just missing, she says,
and we must await his return. She is looking for proof through his horoscope and
the memorial tree having been destroyed.
Of course, Larry’s fiancée must wait as well, according to Kate. Jessica Powell is fabulous as Kate, and we
can feel her tortured soul as we see it in her body and on her face. In fact,
it seems possible that she is conflicted with something more than Larry’s
death.
Joe Keller,
her husband, is a man who rolls with the punches and “jollies” everyone from
the neighborhood kids, the doc next door, his wife and even Ann, who besides
being Larry’s fiancée and former neighbor, is the daughter of Joe’s former
business partner from whom Ann is estranged.
LA actor John Combs shows us Joe as a self-made man of the
self-congratulatory type, who finds meaning in family and has a strong instinct
for survival. As the play develops, Joe
becomes more and more manipulative of various situations, and Combs subtly
shows a growing anxiety in Joe.
Although
Chris has a lot of the glad-handing manner of his father, he also seems more
idealistic and probably better educated, perhaps a product of a more affluent
childhood than the one his father had. He
seems to accept that he will take over his father’s company and fortune without
being fully committed to it, and in an argument with his father over Ann, he
complains about always having to pull back so that other people won’t suffer.
Yet he seems ashamed of what is
practical, equating it with selfishness, and he admires the selflessness
of the men in his company who died.
Actress
Alyson Lindsay rises to the challenge of playing Ann, who is often the catalyst
for truth in the play but who also wants to be a peacemaker. Ann’s brother
George, played brilliantly by Nick Ferrucci, appears in Act II and roams the
stage like a caged tiger, filled with the tension of his
search for the truth.
Supporting
players Corbin Kerr, a little boy in cowboy attire, and Breton Nicholson and
Stephanie Tucker as Mr. and Mrs. Lubey help flesh out the Keller’s neighborhood
and lighten the mood. Michael Ludlum and
Olga O’Farrell as Dr. and Mrs. Bayliss add texture and drama with their strong
personalities. Dr. Bayliss has one of my
favorite lines: “It’s hard to remember the kind of man I wanted to be.” O’Farrell as his wife reveals her frustration
with her husband and the Kellers’ influence, which gives us the idea that there
are secrets in the Keller family that are perhaps not as secret as they think.
“All My Sons”
was Miller’s second play to go to Broadway.
When his first one closed after only four performances, he determined to
give up writing if this one were not more successful. Thankfully, it was. Miller won the Tony for this play in 1947.
Miller
garnered inspiration from a 1940’s newspaper story about an Ohio company
selling defective aircraft parts to the U.S. Air Force. As in today’s scandals such as the “mortgage
meltdown,” the question of “Who’s to blame?” is front and center. That question seems hard for the culprits to
answer since they see themselves driven by love of family or what they consider
smart business practices. How big is our family? In the play, Chris tells his mom, “There’s a universe of people outside and
you’re responsible to it.” It reminds me of the Biblical Cain who asks, “Am I
my brother’s keeper?”
Kudos to
Sierra Rep for bringing us thought-provoking drama. Director Scott Viets and producing and
managing directors, Dennis and Sara Jones deserve our thanks for tackling this
gem of the American theater.
Don’t miss
it. “All My Sons” runs through September 21 at the East Sonora venue, 13891
Mono Way. Visit www.sierrarep.org or call 209-532-3120.
by
Shari Schweigler