Death of a Salesman at Lyric Stage Co.

Satisfaction

by Elizabeth Chiu

3.14.14

            People live to be loved. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and directed by Spiro Veloudos and preformed at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston. You see a family’s tragedy unfold. The tension in the air continues to rise throughout the play. From one loud argument to the next you start to see the flaws in the Loman family. Sitting in the black box and watching a family go through issues about pride and success and love its difficult to swallow. The pain from there own insecurities starts to take over each of them bit-by-bit. Until one chooses the easy way out.

            A common question that we ask ourselves is am I ever good enough for you? Our world is filled with people trying to please other people. Without taking into consideration that the respect for yourself comes before anyone else’s wishes. Anyone can define you if you let him or her. This problem is portrayed in Willy Loman and Biff Loman’s father and son relationship. Willy favors Biff over his other son Happy. Which causes Happy to constantly try to get attention from his father in order to feel important and wanted. In the beginning Biff lets his father define him because he puts all of his hope and effort into him. Biff is faced with the fear of disappointing his father because he struggles with his father’s desires. Later on in the play Biff realizes his own desires and tells his father to give up on him as a businessman. Willy lets his manhood define him because he fears that he is no longer wanted like a rusty old tool that never works right. His wife Linda Loman will defend and love Willy no matter what other people say. Her love for him defines her as a compassionate character.

            These characters are relatable because they make mistakes. There failures make the play believable. The overall madness of the play leaves the audience with an open ending to think. Some were crying and others were completely dandy. The design of the set was simple. With two stories and a basement and two bedrooms. Majority of the drama would take place in the kitchen or outside of the house. Also the upper space on the second floor was hardly used. This play represents the hardships of growing up. The Death of a Sales Man is compelling and painful. This tragedy will remind you how important family is.