Sierra Rep stages its first Arthur Miller play All My Sons
It was written during World War II, but Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons continues to resonate with audiences today. Running August 29 through September 21
at Sierra Repertory Theatre’s East Sonora stage, the drama’s themes –
corruption, materialism, getting ahead at the expense of others – are
still relevant, said Scott Viets, artistic director at Sierra Repertory
Theatre.
Viets,
along with Dennis and Sara Jones, the theater’s producing and managing
directors, chose the play in part because it drives people to think
about right and wrong. It’s based on a true story, which Miller’s then
mother-in-law pointed out in an Ohio newspaper. The news story described
how in 1941-43 the Wright Aeronautical Corporation had conspired with
U.S. Army inspection officers to approve defective aircraft engines
intended for the military.
Miller’s
play, though, focuses on Joe Keller, the fictional head of the company,
who is accused of releasing the defective parts. That decision sets off
a series of events that highlight the play’s complex characters.
“On
the surface they’re an average family,” Viets said. “But they evolve in
very surprising, even shocking, ways as their secrets are exposed.”
There’s
Kate, the wife who defends her husband and insists that one of her
sons, missing in action, is alive. There’s Ann, who was engaged to the
missing son and now plans to marry his brother. There’s Chris, the
brother, a decorated war veteran who could potentially inherit the
company, unknowingly profiting from his father’s business practices.
“This
is a play about morals, about ethics,” Viets said. “It’s about living
life at the expense of others. It comes down to deliberately doing
something wrong and making peace with yourself, at least on the
surface.”
That
appeals to actor John Combs, who will come to Sonora from Los Angeles
to play Joe Keller. The 60-year-old first saw the play when he was a
drama student in his 20s.
“I
remember thinking, ‘I want to play Joe Keller someday,’” he said. “What
really jumped out at me were the layers of things beneath the surface.
It’s the conundrum and the difficulty of what he is living with, the
lies he has to tell. It makes for a rich character.”
Combs most recently played parts in The Love List by Norm Foster and An Ideal Husband by Oscar Wilde. He’s been in two episodes of Law and Order and had a small part in the film When Harry Met Sally. This is his first Sierra Rep production.
It’s
also the first time the theater has staged a play by Miller, considered
by many to be one of the great American playwrights. Miller wrote All My Sons after his first play, The Man Who Had All The Luck,
failed on Broadway, lasting only four performances. It was his final
attempt at producing a commercially-successful play. He vowed to “find
some other line of work” if the play did not find an audience. But All My Sons
won the Drama Critics Award for Best New Play in 1947, won multiple
Tony Awards and established Miller as a leading voice in American
theater. He went on to write other well-known plays, including Death of a Salesman and The Crucible.
All My Sons
was twice adapted for film, in 1948 and again in 1987. Still, the work
is not often seen on stage today, said Viets, who went on to explain
that the theater chose it because it is one of Millers lesser-produced
works.
“Can you believe we’ve never done an Arthur Miller before?” Viets
remarked. “It’s actually kind of incredible, considering our 35-year
history. So we wanted our first Miller play to be something special – a
piece not done as often.”
Another thing about All My Sons that appealed to Viets is the play’s timeline. It’s set in a 16-hour time period, a “day in the life” of the Keller family.
“You
see it practically in real time, with no flashbacks or exposition –
just two several hour time lapses,” he said. “These characters encounter
painful discoveries, revelations, exposure and confusion at the same
time the audience does. The audience becomes involved in the immediacy
of their journey.”
The production will leave the audience with a lot to mull over, both Combs and Viets predicted.
“I
think it will leave them thinking about all the things we have going on
under the surface,” Combs said. “I think the audience will leave
feeling like we all have this very complex character in us.”
All My Sons runs Aug. 29-Sept. 21 in East Sonora. Friday performances begin at 7 p.m., Saturday evening shows begin at 8 p.m. and Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees begin at 2 p.m. Check Sierra Rep’s schedule for Thursday times, which fluctuate between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. performances. General admission ranges from $26 to $32. The show is rated PG-13.
For more information or reservations, call Sierra Rep’s box office at 209-532-3120 or visit Sierra Rep at www.sierrarep.org.
