September 1, 2013

Wisconsin outdoes Broadway.

Terry Teachout in the Wall Street Journal reviewing the current production of "All My Sons" (in Spring Green, Wisconsin:
Do it naturalistically and straightforwardly and you can't miss. Add a pinch of understated imagination and the results will be even better. William Brown's American Players Theatre production scores big on both counts....

The last revival of "All My Sons" that I saw was Simon McBurney's 2008 Broadway production, a criminally excessive exercise in postmodern stage prestidigitation in which Katie Holmes, John Lithgow and Dianne Wiest all sank beneath the roiling waves of Mr. McBurney's trickery. 

4 comments:

Kirk Parker said...

Oh, what a crazy mixed-up world we live in, that twice in the span of half a decade someone thought All My Sons was worth reviving.

From Inwood said...

I've never seen it on stage. I’ve seen the movie, which was well acted (E. G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster) but talky, hectoring & preachy. Also contrived.

Maybe it works better as a stage play.

In any event, it would’ve worked better if The Robinson character hadn’t committed suicide & the "kids" get to live happily ever after.

IMHO, & with all due respect to Teachout, Miller is overrated & his reputation is waning.

Unknown said...

Milwaukee Rep did it a couple of years ago.

From Inwood said...

Prof A

Sorry. Not much attention being paid to Miller here