Milwaukee Repertory Theater closes its current season with a powerful production of the dramatic classic, Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winning play is masterfully reborn under the direction of artistic director Mark Clements. In Clements' vision, Willy Loman isn't only a washed-up salesman, he also seems to be on the brink of dementia. His erratic outbursts and dazed wanderings make it painfully clear that Willy Loman has lost his place in the world. He also seems to have lost his ability to separate reality from past memories.
The show, which debuted on Broadway in 1949, here seems untouched by time. Yet Clements' production is firmly set in the 1940s, with costumes and props from that era. The play's theme is keenly felt in a time when the Great Recession has tossed literally millions of people out of their jobs. Like Willy Loman, many jobless Americans are experiencing life that has not played out as imagined.
It's no surprise that veteran Milwaukee actor Lee E. Ernst makes an excellent Willy Loman. Ernst has reached the age when playing such a character is no stretch. A small man to begin with, Ernst seems to literally shrink over the course of the play. His sample cases seem to get heavier with each trip through New England, his sales "territory" for the past three decades. Never once does the word "retirement" occur to Loman as he trudges onward. However, Loman and his wife, Linda, recognize that a series of car wrecks may signal the end to his days on the road.
Linda Loman is equally well-played by another Milwaukee Rep veteran, Laura Gordon. She and Ernst are convincing as a long-married couple who must share the heavy burden of Loman's predicament. This critic confesses a tendency during Death of a Salesman to have even more sympathy for Linda than her husband. Linda supports Willy at every opportunity to an unheard-of extent for today's modern women and yet does not receive the appreciation nor respect she has earned. Knowing this, Willy's infidelities are all the more difficult to watch. Even Willy shows disgust at his own betrayal. For instance, he feels guilty when he sees his wife mending stockings (he hands out new pairs as gifts to his girlfriends). Gordon is excellent at portraying Linda as the bedrock that holds the family together. She demonstrates her faithfulness to Willy even to the end. As Biff and Happy, the Lomans' sons, Reese Madigan and Gerard Neugent also turn in memorable performances. Neugent lives up to his name as the upbeat counterpart to the despairing Biff. Madigan conveys Biff as a former athletic champion who never took the anticipated next step to a successful career. Playwright Miller makes a strong case for the reasons why people like Biff become "shooting stars." They fizzle out after a brief moment of glory. When Biff returns home as a grown man, he expresses increasing disgust at his father's still-boosterish demeanor. Neugent, as the younger son, is so exuberant in the play's early scenes that his later indifference shown to his father creates quite a wallop. To avoid public embarrassment, Happy basically "disowns" his father. This infuriates Linda, who berates her boys in one of the play's most poignant scenes.
Interestingly, actor Guy Massey presents a fairly sympathetic portrayal of the firm's owner, Howard. His character inherits the firm -- and Willy -- after his father's death. Howard seems unsure of his decision as he tries to balance his father's wishes with harsh business realities. While clearly displeased with Willy's behavior, Howard indicates more understanding than usual of Willy's situation. One almost believes that Howard would give Willy a desk job if one were available. From beginning to end, Death of a Salesman is one of the highlights of the Milwaukee Rep's season. It will be remembered long after the last curtain comes down.
