playbill vip

What does it mean to be successful in this one life that we are given? What does the “American Dream” really mean? Does money solve life’s problems or is it the root of all evil? How does one live successfully and honestly or is that even possible? These are some of the questions posed in Arthur Miller’s towering Death of a Salesman. It is considered the greatest American tragedy. In choosing this year’s fall production, I decided to go for broke. I thought to myself “Why not?” I had more than enough people tell me that this piece is just too involved, too deep, too complicated for teenagers to undertake or to even understand. That the characters and their issues just aren’t accessible to today’s youth. In talking with the cast throughout the rehearsal process, I couldn’t disagree more. I see this simply as a play that is in the high school curriculum and I approached as I would any other play.  

      I have been haunted by this play ever since I first read it in high school and then seeing it on stage years later, identifying with each and every character in it. After exploring the quintessential “angry young man” in Tennessee Williams The Glass Menagerie, the idea of confronting the justice in ourselves in Miller’s The Crucible, this play seemed a logical next step in exploring the great canon of American plays for the students of Lemon Bay. Introducing these characters to these students has been like introducing them to my ancestors and their struggles. These students have taken to this piece with a passion, a curiosity and a drive I have rarely seen.  They have explored nuances, making connections to their own lives and to current issues in our country that informed their performances. This play is so relevant, so potent, so searing that it could have been written in 2016 instead of 1949.

    In undertaking this production, I wish to thank my co-sponsor Jodi Richards for all she does to keep the details together and for being my co-producer as well as co-sponsor. I must thank the parents who have contributed time, meals, and encouragement throughout this process. Also, to the Administration of Lemon Bay who have supported this now new tradition of Black Box Theatre and it’s potential. I also wish to thank Nancy Smith for being my “legs” and getting so many of our props, set pieces and being an incredible supporter of this program. We welcome back Mr. Mike Hilton who supervised the set construction that was designed by a student, and Misty Raines who continues to man our box office with “long distance” help from Rebecca Kinney and Toy Coxey who has done our stunning programs for 4 years now. Most of all I wish to thank the students who went on this journey of this American classic and dared to explore the questions Arthur Miller posed all those years ago.