Review: ArtsWest's DEATH OF A SALESMAN Filled with Pathos but Lacks Connection

One of the major problems with the Loman family in Arthur Miller's masterpiece "Death of a Salesman", currently closing out the season at ArtsWest, is that the family doesn't communicate with each other. They bluster and puff up about things that may or may not have happened but they never really talk to each other about what's important. And while that lack of communication may serve the story well it does not serve the performance as the same could be said for the production at ArtsWest itself. During it's over 3 hour runtime there were a lot of emotion and stirring speeches being made but for the most part the actors were not connecting with each other and if they aren't connecting with each other then the audience cannot connect with them.

Lauded as one of the greatest American plays, Miller focuses on the life of salesman Willy Loman (David Pichette), who once in his career may have been a top dog but now his prospects and income are dwindling. To top it all off he's now starting to have episodes of incoherence as his mind regresses into his past and he carries on conversations with no one. His wife Linda (Eleanor Moseley) tries to keep things all together and away from their sons Biff and Happy (Drew Highlands and Kyle Anton Johnson) but it's getting worse. Add to that the fact that the better times that Willy is reliving may all be based on lies as Biff, once the golden boy with tons of promise, now struggles to find his way in life and Happy, who has always lived in the shadow of his brother, is on a dangerous path of turning into a carbon copy of his blow hard of a father.

It's certainly not the cheeriest of evenings at the theater but it should be quite a powerful one, assuming it's presented well. Some members of the cast connect well with their characters and the emotion behind them, especially Pichette who throws his entire self into the role, but the problem is that they're not connecting with each other. Sure there were tons of powerful speeches made and stirring moments but they were isolated as the others on stage seemed to be in their own individual plays, each one waiting for their chance to emote with their next monologue. Director Mathew Wright has staged some pretty pictures on the stage and has some of the actors investing in the pretty words they're saying (although some were just saying the pretty words and expecting them to do the job) but he neglected to get them to listen to each other and that's where the disconnect comes from. And without that connection it's impossible to invest in the lives of these flawed people.

There are some exceptions but they are too few and too late in the game. Pichette does seem to connect with Jason Sanford and Kevin Kelly in their respective scenes as Loman's Boss Howard and the kid from next door Bernard, and they connect with him making their scenes quite engaging. And Highlands' final scene with Pichette as he let's all pretense go and opens up to his father is quite powerful. But the problem is that all of those moments are later in Act Two and by that point if we're not invested, we're not going to be.

The lack of connection from this show is quite a shame as Pichette is pouring his all into the role and it could have been quite powerful in other circumstances. But as it stands now, with my three letter rating system I give ArtsWest's "Death of a Salesman" a rather disconnected and disappointed MEH. Willy constantly laments his own missed opportunities and he can add this production to the list.

"Death of a Salesman" performs at ArtsWest through May 29th. For tickets or information contact the ArtsWest box office at 206-938-0339 or visit them online at www.artswets.org.

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