Death of A Salesman

---

Okay, I admit it, it's me. There must be something wrong with me. I don't get why Death of a Salesman is such a classic. Why it is studied in colleges. Why it is revived every 15 years or so. And most importantly, why I should care about any of these characters. Now please understand, I'm not looking for explanations, so please don't answer this with comments on how/why this play is so wonderful. I admit that the lack is in me. I did not enjoy a play where most of the time is spent watching people who lie to each other and to themselves. Mostly in support of a central character who is the biggest liar of all.

Now, Philip Seymour Hoffman plays that liar quite well. Even as he contradicts himself, his conviction never wavers. But while Hoffman plays slow and schlubby well, he is not convincingly 63. Throughout the whole play, during "present" scenes and flashbacks, he looked like he was in his late 40s. Linda Edmond, as Mrs. Loman, dons a gray wig for present day scenes and has black hair in the flashbacks. The actors playing Biff and Happy (neither of which look like Hoffman or Edmond), merely have costume changes to signify the difference in ages. This leads to another problem I had with the production. The physical set and most of the costuming gave a "timeless" feel to the production. This might have worked if the production claimed to be set now, but the playbill lists the time as late 1940s. Nothing in the physical production suggests that time frame, and very little suggests that the flashbacks are the 1930s. So when Willie Loman is talking about his father crossing the country in a covered wagon, I was truly confused.

And that's what I was at the end of the show. Confused. Confused as to why Mr. Miller chose to write about this family. And what was I supposed to take away from the story. All in all, I'm afraid that while Linda Loman says "Attention must be paid," there was no pay off for my attention and time.

---