( ENSPIRE Entertainment ) Black on Broadway: The Death of a Salesman
Following its critically acclaimed run at London’s Young Vic Theatre and on the West End, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is told–for the first time on Broadway–from the perspective of a Black family. Miranda Cromwell, who co-directed the London production alongside Marianne Elliott directs this vibrant and timely production. Together, they won the 2020 Olivier Award for Best Direction.
Olivier Award nominee Wendell Pierce and Olivier Award winner and 2022 Tony Award® nominee Sharon D Clarke reprise their roles as Willy and Linda Loman, and Khris Davis joins them as Biff, McKinley Belcher III as Happy, and Tony Award® winner Andreì De Shields as Willy’s brother, Ben. Additional cast includes Blake DeLong as Howard/Stanley, Lynn Hawley as The Woman/Jenny, Grace Porter as Letta/Jazz Singer, Stephen Stocking as Bernard, Chelsea Lee Williams as Miss Forsythe, and The Wire’s Delaney Williams as Charley.
The creative team includes Olivier Award winner and Tony Award® nominee Anna Fleischle (scenic and co-costume design), Sarita Fellows (co-costume design), Tony Award® nominee Jen Schriever (lighting design), Tony Award® nominee Mikaal Sulaiman (sound design). Femi Temowo (composer), Drama Desk Award nominee Nikiya Mathis (hair design), Erica A. Hart & Daniel Swee (casting) and John Miller (music coordinator).
The producing team for the show also includes Steven Chaikelson, Gavin Kalin, Hunter Arnold, Catherine Schreiber, Bob Boyett, Brian D. Kessler, Michael Watt, Eilene Davidson, Chuchu Nwagu Productions, David Mirvish, Playing Field, Tom Saporito, Triptyk Studios, Iris Smith, LD Entertainment, Salman Al-Rashid, Concord Theatricals, Lamar Richardson, JamRock Productions, Young Vic Young Ones, Jamie deRoy/James L. Simon, TackelRaven/Louise H. Beard, Ferguson Simons/Marjuan Canady, Al Nocciolino/Blumenthal Performing Arts, Phenomenal Media/Meena Harris, and The Young Vic.
Few works of drama loom as large in the national psyche as Miller’s seminal Death of a Salesman. It caused a critical sensation when it premiered on Broadway in 1949 with a production directed by Elia Kazan. Death of a Salesman won six Tony Awards® including Best Play and was also honored with the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. The play has enjoyed four previous Broadway revivals, three of which won the Tony Award® for Best Revival of a Play.
I watched Death of a Salesman and its talented cast put on an overwhelmingly great performance. They brought every character to life in reviving a classic story. This revival makes sense that one story can be told from several perspectives. And in particular the Black family perspective as it has not been close to an overabundance on Broadway, but recently that stigma has been changing.
Death of a Salesman fills the gap towards the push for more Black cast and team behind broadway shows. The caliber of talented actors that played each character exceeded expectations as the audience was engaged the entire show. The way they structured the set added to the smooth transition of scenes of locations and past or present of the mind of Willy Loman.
Overall, this is an amazing play to watch, and you should get your tickets! For more details about the production, including information about how to purchase tickets, please visit www.salesmanonbroadway.com.
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