Last night I attended an exceptional production of All My Sons at the Newport Beach Theatre Arts Center at the advice of my good friend Todd was also in the cast. After the show we had a late dinner at Garlic Jo's (my new favorite restaurant) to discuss my impression of the play and to catch up on our current events. This was the first time I have seen All My Sons performed and I have to say that I was quite intrigued by the characters. Arthur Miller is a playwright who is more commonly associated with his play Death of a Salesman, which contains very similar themes. However, I must say that I quite enjoyed All My Sons, as much as anyone can ‘enjoy’ a tragedy centering around a misguided father figure who falls by his own hubris.
Here is great example of how Aristotle’s Tragedy can work in a modern landscape. Within a 24 hour time period, the protagonist must learn his fault and suffer as a result. We also have a father son relationship at the center of the story, also common in Greek tragedies. Now in this case Miller does not present a person of power or prestige in the title role, as defined by Aristotle. However he gives the audience Joe Keller, a common business owner who has a great ways to fall in the eyes of his family. Much like Death of a Salesman, Joe represents not just himself by an entire class of working class individuals.
The cast is made up of veteran actors, all of which are remarkable. Standout performances were delivered by Vince Campbell as Joe and Jonathan Deroko as Chris who are the driving forces of this production.
All My Sons. Through Feb. 20th 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, 2 p.m. Newport Theatre Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach. Tickets $15. Call 949-631-0288 for reservations or go online at www.ntaconline.com for more information.
In other news: My dear friend Todd has written a play called Transfigured Night about Austrian composer Anton Webern. He is currently looking for new works theatre companies that may be interested in producing his play, so if you have any suggestions please post below.
I have not had the pleasure of reading Todd’s play, but I have great faith in his talent. He has been working on this piece for a long time and I believe it to be a innovative look into an composer who is often looked over.
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