#robert falls

[doyouknowthismusical]

Do you know Aida (1999) ?

Yes, I’ve been in it

Yes, I’ve seen it

Yes, I’ve listened to it

No, but I’ve heard of it

No, never heard of it

Voting ended onNov 8, 2023

[olympain]

One-night-only reading of Philip Barry's Holiday at The Gerald W. Lynch Theater at The John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

[purplelittlepup]

I'm playing Aida in this year's musical at my school and I just,,, love this part of the show. It's so cute ahhh!!

[twittercomfrnklin2001-blog]

Swing State

SWING STATE by Rebecca Gillman directed by Robert Falls: I don’t think I’m overreacting to the fact that this is the first straight play for me on this visit, but this tale of human connections dying in a dying world seemed utterly sublime to me. The widowed Peg (Mary Beth Fisher) tends 40 acres of prairie land she owns in rural Wisconsin. The wildlife and wild flowers are slowly fading under the effects of pollution, much of it from the farm next door. When her husband’s rifle and some tools go missing from the barn, the sheriff (Kristen Fitzgerald) suspects Ryan (Bubba Weiler), an ex-convict who survived an emotionally abusive father and alcoholic mother with the help of Peg and her late husband. But did he steal the rifle for criminal purposes or because he knows Peg is considering suicide? That’s not as grim as it sounds. Gillman has peppered the play with humor that grows out of character. It’s like Chekhov as he saw himself rather than as Stanislavksy saw him (look it up). Gillman gives everybody opportunities for dimensional work. There are no clowns or villains. Just people. The ensemble playing is terrific, and after five musicals it was a joy to hear natural, un-miked, undistorted human voices. The set is also a marvel of detail. The production is imported from the Goodman Theater in Chicago and represents them very wellThe show has been extended, but there were empty seats at the Saturday night performance I attended. In a just world, this production would run to full houses for years.

[shakespearenews]

Robert Falls: Letting Go of the Goodman

After stepping down from the helm of the Chicago theatre he ran for 36 years, he's directing---what else?---Chekhov's 'The Cherry Orchard.'

I personally was exploding with ambition and size. I’d outgrown the Wisdom Bridge, with productions like Hamlet and Mother Courage and Her Children. So I had a vision for the Goodman that was rather grandiose in terms of big Brecht productions, large Shakespeare—I felt that the classic work hadn’t really been investigated. Of course, those productions were all very expensive to do, and I needed to know from the board of directors that they were going to support the vision I was bringing, at a time when the theatre was facing a multimillion-dollar deficit and they were looking at a much more conservative direction.

[frontmezzjunkies]

We’re Only Alive For a Short Time Flies High On The Wings of a Rare Bird

#frontmezzjunkies reviews: #WereOnlyAliveForAShortTime Written & Performed by @davidjamescale Lyrics: #DavidCale Music: Cale & #MatthewDeanMarsh Directed by #RobertFalls #ThePublicTheater #OffBroadway @PublicTheaterNY #WereOnlyAlive

We’re Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time. David Cale. Photo by Joan Marcus.

The Review: We’re Only Alive For a Short Time By Ross One wants to soar alongside those musically envisioned Canadian Geese, flying so high above the stage of the Public Theater’s We’re Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time, as told by the gifted writer and performer, David Cale (Public’s The Total Bent). David, the…

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[frontmezzjunkies]

We’re Only Alive For a Short Time Flies High On The Wings of a Rare Bird

#frontmezzjunkies reviews: #WereOnlyAliveForAShortTime Written & Performed by @davidjamescale Lyrics: #DavidCale Music: Cale & #MatthewDeanMarsh Directed by #RobertFalls #ThePublicTheater #OffBroadway @PublicTheaterNY #WereOnlyAlive

We’re Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time. David Cale. Photo by Joan Marcus.

The Review: We’re Only Alive For a Short Time By Ross One wants to soar alongside those Canadian Geese, flying so high above the stage of the Public Theater’s We’re Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time, as told by writer and performer, David Cale (Public’s The Total Bent). David, the central character of his solo…

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[papermoonstheatricaldiary]

DEATH OF A SALESMAN

January 28, 1999

DEATH OF A SALESMAN is a play written by Arthur Miller. It was the recipient of the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells of the life and decline of salesman Willy Loman, his wife Linda, and his two adult sons, Happy and Biff. The play incorporates flashbacks and ghost characters.  

The play premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742 performances, and winning a Tony Award for Best Play. It has been revived on Broadway four times: 

1975 starring George C. Scott 

1984 starring Dustin Hoffman 

1999 starring Brian Dennehy (see below) 

2012 starring Philip Seymour Hoffman  

It also premiered in London in 1949 starring Paul Muni.  There was a London revival in 1979 starring Warren Mitchell, and another revival in 1996 starring Alun Armstrong.  

In 1951 a film version was nominated for several Oscars. The play was adapted for television in: 

1957 (UK TV) starring Albert Dekker 

1958 (Canadian TV) starring Albert Dekker 

1966 starring Lee J. Cobb 

1966 (UK TV) starring Rod Steiger 

1985 starring Dustin Hoffman, based on a Broadway revival 

1996 starring Warren Mitchell 

2000 starring Brian Dennehy, based on a Broadway revival  

The play is in constant production by educational, regional, and community venues worldwide.  It is considered to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.  

After a run at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, DEATH OF A SALESMAN began performances at Broadway's Eugene O'Neill Theatre on January 22, 1999 and ran for a total of 274 regular performances and 22 previews.  It was directed by Robert Falls, and starred Robert Dennehy (Willy), Elizabeth Franz (Linda), Kevin Anderson (Biff), Ted Koch (Happy), Richard Thompson (Bernard), Howard Witt (Charley), Allen Hamilton (Uncle Ben), Steve Pickering (Howard), Ken Klineman (Stanley), Stephanie March (Miss Forsythe), Chelsea Altman (Letta), Kate Buddeke (Woman), and Barbara Eda-Young (Secretary).  The production won four 1999 Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Play, Falls' direction and acting honors for Dennehy and Franz.  The play, Dennehy and Kevin Anderson also won 1999 Drama Desk Awards.

I have to concur that DEATH OF A SALESMAN is one of the greatest plays of the 20th century.  I would venture to see THE greatest American play ever.  It was certainly the pinnacle of Miller's career.  While I respect this work immensely, I can't say I really enjoy it – or ever look forward to seeing it. Except, that is, when it starred one of my personal favorite actors, Elizabeth Franz.  As Willy's put upon wife Linda, Franz was amazing.  “Attention must be paid!” she says as she keens at her husband's grave.  And attention was duly paid when Franz won the 1999 Tony for her work. Although I haven't seen or heard much from her lately, she remains an all-time favorite actor.  

The year before this revival came to Broadway from the Windy City, Paper Mill had also produced SALESMAN, starring John Waite (“The Waltons”).  It was a workman-like production, but sturdy enough for a regional staging.  It didn't hold a candle, however, to the powerhouse of Falls' production.  A few years later, Kevin Anderson came to the Mill to star as Dr. John in Summer and Smoke, by Tennessee Williams, another of America's greatest playwrights. Although Paper Mill excelled in musical theatre, once in a while we dabbled in the classics and I (for one) am better for it.  

DEATH OF A SALESMAN rates 4 Paper Moons out of 5