Miller's classic 'Death of a Salesman' to be staged

Skidmore's Department of Theater will present an exploration of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Friday through Sunday, Oct. 22-24 and Oct. 28-31. 

The performance will be in the black box studio theater in the Bernhard Theater building. Performances will begin at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $12 each for the general public, $8 for students and senior citizens. Reservations are required as seating is limited. For reservation information please call the theater box office at 518-580-5439 or email boxoffice@skidmore.edu.

Internationally acclaimed New York director Phil Soltanoff will explore Miller's classic American drama with a company of actors. Using a variety of approaches and modern technology, they will actively encounter the 1966 television presentation of the play to create an innovative theatrical event.The concept for this production is very simple and very hard - to imitate as specifically as possible the gestures of this original 1966 video recording of the play, featuring Lee J. Cobb and Mildred Dunnock.  

Written in 1949, Death of a Salesman won both a Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Lee J. Cobb performed the role of lead character Willy Loman on stage as well as in the TV production.

The 1966 TV production was performed "live" in the studio without takes and edits. This is a glimpse back to the Golden Age of American acting, when the world was fixed on the power of the actor. Can we discover something about acting and ourselves by mimicking, in precise detail, the work of the past? This production embraces digital video and audio technologies as a tool for excavation.

Soltanoff, who was nominated for a 2007 Moliere Award for his creation and direction of More or Less, Infinity, is devoted to the creation of innovative, hybrid work that collides the arts in compelling ways, challenging familiar forms. He builds links between seemingly incompatible media and materials, and employs new technologies in surprising and human ways. 

Says Soltanoff,"On the one hand, Death of a Salesman is part of our public consciousness. It's an artifact that we all know something about, regardless of whether or not we've actually seen it or read it. Consequently, when a revival of the play happens, the artists involved invest in making their own gestures, but are they really doing anything original? Does imitation allow us to excavate something about the roots of American stage acting? I am pursuing this "exploration" not as a gimmick, but to examine the changing relationship between people and technology and how theater and performance can examine that relationship. To my mind, the world of Death of a Salesman when Arthur Miller conceived the play no longer exists.  We can no longer think about the play without understanding the influence of contemporary technology."

Skidmore senior Anthony Bentrovato has the role of Willy Loman; sophomore Andrew Rousso will portray Willy's eldest son, Biff. Other key roles are senior Sara Jane Munford as Linda Loman, Willy's wife, and sophomore Paul-Emile Cendron as the youngest Loman, Hap.