14th: Death of a Salesman

      It's your turn! Last weekend I performed as Willy Loman in Fourteenth Grade Player's production of Death of a Salesman. So now it's time for Salesman, and myself, to get a review. A few weeks before the show went up, David Neiman (student theater junkie) contacted me asking if I would allow him to do the review. David expressed such a love of what Death of a Salesman is as a piece of art that I couldn't turn him down - with one condition. I told him he had to call 'em like he sees 'em. So, without further ado, Mr. Neiman's review:

(Please forgive the formatting - I don't know what happened, and I can't fix it.)

There’s no fucking way. What a cliché! A student production of Death of a Salesman? Psshh. Get real. We all know Death of a Salesman. Literally every single one of us. We’ve all read it, or seen it, or heard about it, or something like that. It’s one of those shows that everyone already knows the story: the ending. And me personally, well shit, I’ve done a bunch of those scenes before. I was muttering some of the characters’ lines to myself before they got a chance to spit them out onstage. So there’s no way that a show like that can grip you right? No way you can get sucked in to the action as if you don’t know who dies in the end. Right? No way you can root for everyone you know will fail. Right? Right!? There’s just no way!

But there is. There is and the team behind 14th Grade Players’ production of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller found it. If you don’t/didn’t trek up to the luxurious West Hall Theatre on the Vern this weekend to see one of the true classics, you missed out. Plain and simple. I told Big Man Eddie Churchill I’d write him an honest guest review, so here goes.

Company Presentation

What company presentation? The white picket fence? Oh! That was for this show? Ahhhhh! That makes sense now. Now that I look very closely and see that it’s not just a plug for a Seattle-based grunge-rebirth band. But actually. It’s Death of a Salesman! DEATH. OF. A. SALESMAN! You know? The show that sells itself? Where’s the big writing to catch my eye? Where’s the iconic profile of Willy failing: his fist raised to the gods? You know? Where’s THE SALESMAN!? Don’t get me wrong, it’s elegant. I like it. But me personally, if I’m marketing this show, I make sure the title takes up half the poster, not the fence. If anything, the fence can make a little, tiny, cut-off appearance on the bottom so you can get the idea, “Oh! A white picket fence! Americana! I get it!”

Set

Let me say something about my relationship with sets. I only ever think about them right before the show starts and when someone runs into a flat that’s supposed to be a wall and it wobbles and I fear for the actors’ safety. That’s it. That being said, was it a good set? Yes. Perfectly good set. It did its job just fine, and I loved the color scheme along the walls, as well as the kitchen floor (nice touch). Could it have had a few more homey touches? Things to help myself and, more importantly, the actors connect with this old, fixed-up home? Sure. A little more personal history would have been nice. It would have been nice if Willy and Linda had some family photos to look at while reminiscing. It would have been nice for Happy and Biff to have some old kids’ toys they hadn’t seen in quite a while up in their room. How do they interact with them now as grown men? Overall, I’d say what separates this very good set from a great set is a few little details. That’s all.

Lights

I don’t know a whole heckuvalot about lights, but what I do know is how this show should be lit. This show flows from the bright, stark reality of the present to amber- and rose-colored visions of the past, and it does this abruptly. I think the lighting designer did a great job lighting these moments, many of them occurring onstage at the same time, as well as nailing the mood lighting as the show went on. It’s a challenging design, and I’d say the actors were lit to satisfaction 97% of the time. Not Walter White’s product, but I’ll settle for Jesse’s any day.

Acting

Acting Death of a Salesman is an uphill battle. I’ll say it again. It’s an uphill battle. Not only are students fighting against the ages of their characters: imagining experiences that they’ve still yet to live. They’re dealing with a culture 60-80 years removed at this point. It’s not easy.

I say this because the acting was really that impressive. I mean really. Bravo! Let’s get to it:

Ed Churchill: You think this guy could get away with writing a theatre blog without being that good? Ed was in the first show I did at GW, August: Osage County, and he played a similar character to what he plays in Death of a Salesman. Back then, I thought, “Oh, I guess he is the closest to that casting that the auditions had to offer. It’s a shame no one better suited for the part auditioned.” Now that being said, Ed nailed it in August, but HOLY JUMPING JESUS CHRIST! He walks onstage in this show and he’s it. All he needs is some good stage makeup and BAM! Effect achieved! Ed was phenomenal. His character was specific; beautifully crafted, and his relationships were spot on, not to mention he did the senile thing just about as well as you can. Every show needs a backbone, and Ed was it. A++. I was thoroughly impressed.

Shira Hereld: Someone call the police, ‘cause this girl stole the show. Linda, in my opinion, is the most challenging role in this show, because she gives all of Willy’s actions the necessary weight. No one cares what happens with Willy’s job or Happy or Biff if Linda doesn’t make us care about keeping the family together. There’s no love in this play unless Linda shows us where it should go. Every heart-wrenching moment, every failure, all of it comes back to our desire for everything to work out: for the Loman family to be happy together, and those desires are anchored in Linda. All I can say about Shira is that she got it. Physically, emotionally, vocally she got it. I’ve read this play quite a few times, and I didn’t know you could do that much with this role. Straight up. A+++.

Kent Ricci: I don’t know Kent, nor had I ever seen Kent in a student theatre show before this one, and I think that worked out perfectly. His Biff was incredibly grounded and sympathetic. You could really feel the contrast between his respect for Willy in his younger days and the weight of Willy’s shadow on his shoulders in the present, and that did a whole lot for this production and the tension between them. His point-of-view and character were both very complete and specific.

Julian Sacca-Schaeffer: I thought Julian did a great job with his role. I think he knew his job and he did his job, and the show wouldn’t have worked as well if he hadn’t. A piece of advice that I’d give Julian, though, and I say this to a lot of people, is to jog a lap or two around the Vern before the show to get himself loose. Of the four main characters, I think JS-S seemed a little stiff among them. However, I loved the choices he made, specifically the heat of his ambition when talking about his plans, “The Loman Brothers.” A great job all-around by everyone in this core group.

Ensemble: You can’t have a Thanksgiving turkey without the stuffing. And oh was the stuffing good. The ensemble for this show had some solid performers to compete with, and they delivered. Josh Bierman’s Charlie was outstanding. He sold his age better than anyone. Sean Viscount’s Ben was perfectly ethereal, a very hard thing to act as well as he did. A shoutout to Brad McKeen, Bekah Meyer, and the rest of the ensemble as well. They all rounded the play out with style.

Directing

Well done Andy Brown! He took on the mountain and reached the summit. The set and lighting did a great job framing what was clearly a carefully crafted beauty. The blocking was natural and fluid. The music was played at the perfect volume. His guidance and touch were evident in the ebb and flow of the show. He should be proud of what you put together.

-David Neiman


Well that's all for now folks - more reviews to come as the semester winds down to a close!

See you in the theater,
Ed