Evening star., 1949-05-15
Drama Finds New Life
In Play About Death
Arthur Miller's Prize Tragedy Is Set
For Long Run on Many Stages
By Jay Cormody
prsmo Editor OF The Stcr
NEW YORK.

From distance-say between Washington and
York-Arthur Mlers tragedy Death Of Salesman.
Moroco Theaer West street sounds even more
exciting Mler play is not ndescribabe but it Is best
destrbed in the authors own words the SAD oeautul ~oos
Even beyond the honor of its prizes including the Critics and
dream and as almost nobody writes It, 1t not only pro-
vdes audiences with haeng emotional experience also re-
deems the drama from the medioc which has long been its
afiiction
Hero Most Unheroic Man.
Brooklyn concentrated his eoquence
most unheroic hero Death of Salesman His Willy Loman
the common man; a travelling wastes his life
ances instead of achieving it. The home
thought he paid his funeral: the
failures the electric refrigerator
before final nstamen paid and the job he fanced
himself as doing so we'll fades
WHY'S complete failure Author Miller has made pure
poetic tragedy yet is much depressing play as an exalted
experience n theatergong.
The playwright of not alone in this accomplishment
sponsored Boomgarden and Walter Fried
he nIo blondng of Journalistic realism and dramatic impres-
brilliantly directed by Ella Kazan 1t is
fully expery chosen cast headed by Lee j. Cobb
Arthur Kennedy Mildred Dunnock Its setting Brooklyn
suocang the pit of apartment house canyon the
seasons brightest from 10 Meilzner's imagination
Chicago and London which will join New York in hav-
ing companies playing Death OF Salesman also Will no WHY
Loman unforgettabe play hero.
Compassion Blended With Humor
Willy figure with great compassion but because
Miller is inspired dramat not without touches OF bitter
sweet humor.
AS the play opens he saggers back from an incompeed
sales trip His mind has cracked under the strain OF knowing
that his least dying Nothing really was
loyalty of his gentle
of this denied him because he appreci
aed this companionship
Now at 63 Willy overwhelmed with failure that he cannot
admit himself His and his mind going he
must himself wasting his life dream His
hope is the idozed Older B he only get Bif start
ed B the former high school athletic star who learned long
before Willy it that his father complete phoney
The bitter of wandering have not entirely destroyed
Bs feeling his father They have left remnant
of fa love and heart full of pity and out Of these the boy
tries sdep the catastrophe settling the Lman house
1t only try foredoomed to failure In the end
Willy must expae the of dreaming by committing suicide in
the that his will happiness for the family he
loved, and which his weakness always betrayed.
Fashback Expertly Used.
Mlers bitter biography Of Willy Loman experty made
brilliant of the asback to the heros
crushing immediate back to its remote Each
his mistakes dealing with his his home his job
illustrated not only in its effect but in its origin
This brought off with much technical brilance the
thea achieves and might well leave the movies envos
of its and eoquence In after shatterng
time is brdged with that only Kazan director
possesses in the current theaer.
Death of Salesman is blessed with series OF stunning
performances Best of is that of Actor Cobb the
deception betrayal No than short step behind
Kennedys bitter older Loman whose heart
died young Mildred Dunnocks mother is simply
portrait the wife whose loyalty sumounts
catastrophe Peds waiter variation of the
played ONels "Iceman comparably praise
worthy bit others Howard Smith, Wnnfred
and Thomas Chalmers superlatve.
contemplation death could be better calculated to keep
the theater