Death of a Salesman at Lyric Stage Co.

Death of Death of a Salesman

 by Talman Fortune

        

    It has been 65 years since Death of a Salesman premiered in 1949 and it is still going strong today being performed by many theatre companies, one of which includes the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, directed by Spiro Veloudos. Death of a Salesman is the story of an old man, Willy Loman (Ken Baltin), who has been working as a salesman for most of his life and his relationship with his family, which consists of his wife Linda (Paula Plum) and his sons Biff (Kelby T. Akin) and Happy (Joseph Marrella). Willy had always favored Biff and steered him in the direction he wanted him to go, this is shown through Willy’s senile flashbacks to events that happened years before. The dysfunctional Loman family tries to make themselves happier by thinking they are a much bigger deal than they actually are, this includes everything from Happy’s actual rank in the business world to how “well liked” Willy is among his clients. Willy always taught his sons that to be successful in life, all they needed to do was be “well liked”.

            The Lyric Stage Company had a very interesting interpretation of Death of a Salesman with the set being a small version of the Loman household, even including a staircase, and great performances by most of the actors. But interesting is as far as it got, the play was well done but didn’t particularly stand out or have any greater impact on me. Yes, the play was depressing with Willy’s slow slip into depression and the reveal of how dysfunctional their family has always been, and in the moment it was emotional but it didn’t leave me with any lasting feelings or anything to think about. The way the story jumped from present to past to events that might not have even happened was confusing and distracting even if it offered the majority of the plot.

Overall, The Lyric Stage Company provided a viewing of Death of a Salesman that was entertaining and had great acting and set, but was missing something that needed to be there for the sake of full enjoyment and emersion into the emotions and feelings of the characters.