Event
Death of A Salesman
The Apron Theater Company and the Next Stage Arts Project present Arthur Miller's Pulitzer Prize winning play Death of a Salesman directed by Carrie Kidd at Next Stage in Putney.
The Apron Theater Company was founded by Karla Baldwin, Hallie Flower, and Carrie Kidd. Death of A Salesman is the company's third production as the Next Stage Arts Project's "theater-company-in-residence" following its highly successful summer productions of W;T and The Cripple of Inishmaan.
An attack on the "American Dream" of materialism, Death of a Salesman is a three-act play (two acts and a "requiem"), centering on the main character, Willy Loman, (played by Arthur Pettee.) The cast also includes Ray Mahoney, Francis Hauert, Adrienne Major, Jerry Levy, Christina Doe, and Nancy Groff.
At age sixty-three, Willy has been a traveling salesman all his life. Despite his hard work and grueling schedule, the Lomans have always lived on the edge of poverty and Willy has always been an underling in his company. Yet Willy constantly tells himself and his family that the "big break" he deserves is just around the corner. He has raised his two sons, Biff (Eric Cutler) and Happy (Matthew McDougall,) to also believe that somehow life has cheated them and insists that one day they will get their due. Willy's wife Linda (Jean Devereux Koester) knows only that Willy is a good man and that she must continue to love him.
Willy finds that because of changing economic conditions the company has no further need for his services. Willy is devastated and he states his work ethic clearly when he says that a man who makes his appearance in the business world is the man who gets ahead. Willy's old boss has died, leaving his son, Howard, (Jonny Mack) the company. The new owner sees Willy as having outlived his usefulness to the company. Willy is let go and discovers there is no other job for him.
Willy is crushed by the knowledge of his sense of failure. He begins to slowly kill himself by inhaling gas fumes from a hose in the garage, an act that relieves his mental anguish. The gas also muddles Willy's mind, conflating past, present, and future. He wants desperately to be "well liked," and without the status of being a manager who makes more money, the dream is impossible. He dies as he has lived, a failure in the eyes of society. Arthur Miller wrote: "to me the tragedy of Willy Loman is that he gave his life, or sold it, in order to justify the waste of it."
Katia Morosan (Stage Manager), Jonathan Hathaway (set design), and John Todd (lighting design), Vivian Smith (costumes), and Heather Taylor (set painting).
Next Stage Arts Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing Putney's cultural and economic village center through the programming, development and operation of Next Stage.
Since its founding in early 2011, NSAP has hosted dozens events including classical, folk, and popular music concerts, a weekly community film series, and a spoken word series. Artists appearing have included Taylor Mali, Pulitzer Prize winning author Tim Weiner, Dr. Carol Gilligan, Jonathan Edwards, and Tony Trischka.
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LocationNext Stage (View)
15 Kimball Hill Rd
Putney, VT 05346
United States
Categories
| Non-Smoking: No |
| Wheelchair Accessible: No |
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