NEW YORK—Arthur Miller’s All My Sons is a tale about the importance of personal responsibility as well as an indictment of those who seek to profit from war, as powerfully shown in the current Broadway revival.
In a post-World War II American town, Joe and Kate Keller’s (John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest) existence is tainted by scandal. During the war, Joe was accused of deliberately selling cracked airplane cylinders to the army, which resulted in the death of 21 pilots.
Joe, the owner of the factory where the parts were made, was originally convicted of the charge, but was exonerated on appeal and put the blame on his partner, who ended up going to jail. But despite everyone seeming to accept Joe’s explanation, in actuality few doubt his guilt, despite Joe’s continual efforts to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the community.
Joe and Kate are also trying to cope with the loss of their son Larry, who was reported missing in the Pacific more than three years earlier. However, any chance to really deal with this issue is continually stymied by Kate absolutely refusing to believe Larry is dead.
This “walking on eggshells to avoid facing the truth” existence is about to be tested when their son Chris (Patrick Wilson), who survived the war intact, announces Larry’s girlfriend, Ann (Katie Holmes), will soon be arriving. Chris and Ann have been writing letters to one another for some time, and when she arrives, Chris plans to ask her to marry him. Joe gives his approval, but Kate won’t hear of it. From almost the first minute Ann arrives, Kate lets slip veiled and not so veiled comments about Ann being Larry’s girl. The fact that Ann is also the daughter of Joe’s former partner, (Ann and her family moved away after what happened), also creates tension.
More troubles may be coming with the imminent arrival of Ann’s brother George (Christian Camargo), who recently visited his father in prison, a fact that makes Joe wonder if the secret he’s been keeping will finally be revealed.
But more than a question of Joe’s culpability, the play also looks at how everyone else handles the situation. (Some by trying to confront it head on, others by looking the other way, and others in deep and desperate denial, with a need to put the incident behind them.) There is also the underlying idea, and centerpiece of the story, that one has the responsibility to do more than help just those they know and love, one also has a duty to mankind at large.
Lithgow is wonderful as Joe, an aging but still vital man wanting to protect the business it’s taken him 40 years to build. In a particularly strong piece of acting, Joe appears both strong and weak at almost the same time. During one particularly intense scene, he is filled with righteous anger over what he’s done. Yet through all his attempts to blame his actions on the “system,” there’s still a scared man inside of him just waiting to emerge if confronted by the truth.
Wiest is excellent as Kate, a forceful woman in denial, not only holding on to the hope that her son is alive, but also, through that action, trying to hold her entire family together. At first a woman seemingly lost in her grief, Kate is revealed to be perhaps the strongest of them all and the one real survivor.
Wilson gives a good portrayal of Chris, if somewhat bland at times, especially in the beginning. However, he plays off both Lithgow and Wiest nicely. Holmes, here making her Broadway debut, does a nice job as Ann. This is a woman who has “come to get married” and will not let anything destroy her chance for happiness, no matter the cost.
The staging of the piece is quite interesting. The Keller home is in the middle of a block of houses, and neighbors keep popping in from time to time. These include a dreamer of a doctor (Damian Young), and a former girlfriend of George’s (Danielle Ferland). The inclusion of these people is not really needed, but at the same time, their existence adds an extra layer of humanity to the story, as it shows how the rest of the town interacts with the Kellers, and the news of Joe’s past deeds.
The show starts slowly but soon comes together once the principle characters are in place. Director Simon McBurney does good work with the staging, and especially the confrontation scenes between Lithgow and Wilson. As the tension keeps building, the audience is drawn into this story of a man and his family caught in a situation not completely of their own making but one which has caused repercussions that must be dealt with.
The show is also rather heavy on sound effects during the dramatic moments, as well as using a number of rear projections to help add to the feelings of time and place in which the story is set. In both situations, it’s as if the creative team didn’t completely trust the source material; the technical enhancements are really not needed—especially true with the overused sound effects that sometimes require the actors to shout in order to be heard.
Despite the problems, “All My Sons,” is rightly considered to be an American classic, offering a sobering and intense tale, and it’s nice to see it back on Broadway again.
Also in the cast are Jordan Gelber, Becky Ann Baker, Michael D'Addario, Sherman Howard, Clark Jackson, Lizbeth Mackay, Christopher Grey Misa, and Danielle Skraastad.
All My Sons
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
236 West 46th Street
212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com
Information: www.AllMySonsOnBroadway.com
Closes: Jan. 11
Running time: Approximately 2 hours, 15 minutes
Judd Hollander is the New York correspondent for the London publication, The Stage.
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