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February 8, 2002
Iconic tale of the times
Playwright puts American morals under a microscope.
BAILA LAZARUS EDITOR
If there is any play that so brilliantly questions the ethics of
post-war America and so scathingly delivers its verdict, it is Arthur
Miller's All My Sons. Written in 1947, Miller's work delivers
a not-so-subtle indictment of a generation of Americans who would
compromise their value system and shirk responsibility in order
to repair and succeed in a war-torn society.
This criticism of the American ideal appears in much of Miller's
work, including the incredibly successful Death of a Salesman
(1949) and The Crucible (1953). And it was this very heavyhandedness
that would lead to Miller's appearance before the House Un-American
Activities Committee in 1956. Demonstrating the moral fibre that
he demands of his characters, Miller refused to reveal names of
supposed communist associates. He was charged with contempt of Congress
but was vindicated when the ruling was reversed in 1958.
As with much of Miller's work, All My Sons is a play about
family and how life is lived through familial interactions. It takes
place after the Second World War. Chris Keller (Jeffrey Renn), the
remaining son of Joe (Norman Browning) and Kate Keller (Martha Henry),
wants to marry Ann Deever (Laurie Paton). They were childhood neighbors,
grew up together and love each other, but circumstances are making
the union next to impossible. Ann was in love with Chris's brother,
Larry, who went missing in action three years earlier. A marriage
with Chris would mean acknowledgment by everyone that Larry's not
coming home, something Kate Keller refuses to accept.
Complicating the scenario is the matter of the family business,
a manufacturing plant that was found guilty of delivering cracked
cylinder heads for use in P-40 airplanes that resulted in the death
of 21 people during the war. Joe Keller was exonerated in the affair,
but Ann's father, who was Joe's partner at the time, was sent to
prison. The bad blood between the families rises up and threatens
to separate Ann and Chris forever.
Miller uses the business as a metaphor for the disease that he saw
affecting America - capitalism that had overtaken moral behavior,
individualism that shied away from duty to transform into selfishness.
Though extremely well-written, the complexity of the characters
makes performing the play a daunting task. Every person seems to
have two sides constantly in conflict - the side that knows the
truth and the side that's in denial; the half that knows the right
thing to do and the half that is too scared to do it. It might have
made for a messy production but the actors are stellar.
Browning is excellent as the gruff "man of the family,"
doing everything for the benefit of the people he loves, while struggling
with own demons of the past; caught between his son's desire to
move on and his wife's reluctance to accept reality.
Renn and Paton play the all-grown-up, love-struck children with
the perfect combination of innocence and foreboding. The biggest
hurdle they seem to face at the beginning is acknowledging how they
feel for one another. But that's a crack in the sidewalk compared
to the wall they will have to face by the play's end.
But the star of the show is Henry as Kate Keller, the rock of the
family who always seems like she'll shatter at any minute. She has
maintained her sanity with the belief that her son is coming home
from the war and now must deal with what she sees as betrayal by
those around her who do not share her faith. She is at once tremendously
strong and pitifully weak.
In many ways, she is the epitome of the stereotypical Jewish mother,
coming across as demanding and pushy, while all the while carrying
the stress of family, neighbors and friends. She tells people how
they look like skeletons and need to eat, reminds people how they
should have listened to her because she's always right and acts
the matchmaker for the next-door neighbor.
Ironically, this same character that seems to bring everyone down
is also the one that provides the most comic relief in the play.
Commenting on a neighbor's illness, Kate says, "Some people,
the sicker they get, the longer they live."
In the end, it is only her acceptance of reality that can bring
the play to its conclusion.
All My Sons is not a feel-good play by any means and it's
often hard to take for two and a half hours. But, it is undeniably
a classic and should be seen at least once in a lifetime. The formidable
cast at the Stanley is all the more reason to see it now.
Supporting the main actors, also with excellent performances, are
Robert Moloney as George Deever, Stephen Dimopoulos and Catherine
Barrol as Dr. Jim and Sue Bayliss, Camyar Chai and Dawn Petten as
Frank and Lydia Lubey, and Powys Harrison-Jones and Doran Satanove
alternating as Bert.
All My Sons runs at the Stanley Theatre until Feb. 24. For
tickets, call the theatre at 604-687-1644 or Ticketmaster at 604-280-3311.
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