DEATH OF A SALESMAN 2026 Previews — Page 4

MezzA101 said: "Nathan Lane scheduled for "Colbert" tonight."

He’s probably the closest we have to a professional talk show guest these days. Since this is probably his last time on Colbert, I hope they give him an extended segment.

Just back from the matinee, and stunned. It's remarkable.

Joe Mantello strips it of excess homage and places it down center with a startling immediacy. Gone is the poetic prism on the house. But it’s not bare bones deconstruction; the world of the play has a decided theatrical capture but freed of 1948 specific tropes. The audacious movement to the early 60s gives the text a different post war context, since Miller anticipated an America split open by midcentury greed and mounting disillusionment. These men - maybe all of them but Happy - seem to be fighting against a major, and dreaded societal shift that’s just around the corner. As a boomer who was a child in the era depicted, I could feel the explosions on their way in America pressing against this family, Linda more included than ever. And it’s a stunning company.

Saw this production this afternoon, and wow. The entire cast was wonderful, especially the core four. They were electric. I hope Metcalf wins Tony #3, and I think she will. Mantello’s direction is sharp. If anyone is on the fence, get tickets now. Plenty of cost-effective options, so don’t miss out on one of this season’s absolute highlights.

bear882 said: "Auggie27 said: "Just back from the matinee, and stunned. It's remarkable.

Joe Mantello strips it of excess homage and places it down center with a startling immediacy. Gone is the poetic prism on the house. But it’s not bare bones deconstruction; the world of the play has a decided theatrical capture but freed of 1948 specific tropes. The audacious movement to the early 60s gives the text a different post war context, since Miller anticipated an America split open by midcentury greed and mounting disillusionment. These men - maybe all of them but Happy - seem to be fighting against a major, and dreaded societal shift that’s just around the corner. As a boomer who was a child in the era depicted, I could feel the explosions on their way in America pressing against this family, Linda more included than ever. And it’s a stunning company."

I feel a tad foolish for not catching the time period switch, in part because I was caught up in the performances and in part because there is no obvious signal that the years have passed. Was it just some of the costumes in the ‘present day’? It makes a bit more sense that way, even though the play was written and originally set in the late 1940s."

There's nothing in this production that indicates a time change.

Updated On: 4/5/26 at 09:41 AM

Agree. Montello really hits it out of the park with this adjustment and new staging of the material. The cast is all on point.

I did not enjoy the previous revival. It was quite basic any regional could have produced/directed. Including the cast and their choices.

This revival feels elevated, smart and original for being a classic thanks to Montello and cast.

Saw this last week and clearly was impressed and engaged having seen quite a few productions of the piece. The set was intriguing. I guess when you're told that you get the Winter Garden for a basic kitchen sink drama one tries to blow out the walls and rethink it. Since so much of Salesman is a memory play it makes sense to take it out of the limitations of a standard kitchen. I don't recall ever seeing the automobile that Willy uses but having the show open with the entrance of a mid sixties Chevy as the centerpiece of the production you are transported into Willy's real world as a traveling salesman. The play seems to take place at the end of the 60's as I doubt that Willy could afford a new car. Actually, the automobile is the centerpiece and "star" of this production (take a look at the Playbill cover and poster art) which is quite fascinating and really pays off by the end. His life is in that automobile and not really in the traditional kitchen, hence the alienation he has with his family. As a car owner I can attest to how the mind wanders on long trips and the garage as mes en scene really captures the conflict between real and illusion as his mind begins to crumble between reality and fantasy. The stunning musical score also takes us on a journey to an unknown place of illusion/delusion. Overall, a daring choice that could only happen when you get to work in a space that one would never expect to accommodate a play like Salesman.

Updated On: 4/5/26 at 03:03 PM

pagereynolds said: "There's nothing in this production that indicates a time change."

Except, of course, for the car (which is the centerpiece of the show) and the 1966 boombox on the ground upstage right, and the costume design. All of those seem to indicate a switch in the time period.

nycward said: "I believe in the Vulture interview with the cast and director, it is referred to as a 1964 Chevy Malibu which initself tells us that we are in for a very different look at Salesman. The end of the war that is referred to in the script now becomes about Vietnam, which clearly has an impact on Biff and Happy. Come to think about it, as the draft ended in 1969, wouldn't these boys be drafted in the early 60's? I guess sometimes a new concept can just go so far when one doesn't have the option of changing the words of an extant script. All fascinatingtoponder when a production is as successful as this one."

But if the show is set in the mid- or even late-‘60s, that means 17 years or so have passed between the ‘present day’ scenes and the flashbacks. Biff and Happy, 34 and 32 respectively, wouldn’t have been drafted for the Vietnam War in their 30s. The flashback scenes, when Biff is finishing high school, would still be set in the late ‘40s or 1950 or 1951 at the latest.

The car on stage is a 1964 Chevrolet Chevelle Malibu. It’s referred to as a Studebaker, which can be explained by the aging Willy Loman being an unreliable narrator, as Nathan Lane suggested an an interview, or because they didn’t want to mess with Arthur Miller’s script. Besides, a traveling salesman - and many other car owners - would have updated his car a lot in those days, so he may have had a Studebaker during the time of the flashbacks.

I suspect the most likely timeline is 1949 for the flashbacks and 1966 for the ‘present,’ give or take a year.

It doesn’t really change the revival in a dramatic way, but the car’s constant presence clearly places the show outside the late 1940s. I just didn’t focus on that, despite the car, because the show seemed to exist outside of time (aside from being set after World War II). But it explains the anomalies in a few costumes.

Updated On: 4/5/26 at 03:48 PM

pagereynolds said: "I mean, you can think whatever you want about the choice of car. (I was right up front and didn't see the boombox, I guess we were too far over.) The costumes other than maybe Happy's are 1940s era. There are no script changes at all. It's 1948."

But the choice of car, and its prominence in the revival, was a conscious decision by director Joe Mantello. I highly doubt it was because they couldn’t find a 1940s Studebaker. Even if Willy is an unreliable narrator, he wasn’t a time traveler to the future.

I watched the play from the fourth row and didn’t really focus on the fact that the car was obviously not 1940s-era.

I agree that the script is unchanged but the setting, which feels shadowy and almost timeless even with its flashbacks, does include a car made in 1964 in the middle of the stage.

There are different ways of interpreting this choice but ‘It’s 1948’ doesn’t feel like the right one.

Updated On: 4/5/26 at 05:56 PM

For those of us who always need more of a Laurie Metcalf fix, here's the trailer for Big Mistakes, the new series she is in with Dan Levy. Starts on Netflix this week.

Description from the NYT which foolishly does not mention her as the mother.

"The actor and comedian Dan Levy, probably best known for his droll stare and shenanigans as David Rose on “Schitt’s Creek,” is returning with “Big Mistakes.” This new comedy crime series, which he created with Rachel Sennott (writer and star of “I Love L.A.”) ups the ante on familial dynamics. But instead of following the unhinged-yet-lovable Rose family in a desolate Canadian town, Levy’s latest series will involve high-stakes deception. When two siblings (Levy and Taylor Ortega) commit a theft for their ailing grandmother, they find themselves in the world of organized crime and a spiral of blackmail. Begins streaming Thursday on Netflix."

Saw the matinee yesterday-- row 1 of the orchestra - center--- fabulous seat- lots of leg room- stage a little high- but not TOO high-- grab this seat for a fantastic experience---loved the show!!! These seats are fab!

Well Telecharge has all that info readily available for you, but just yesterday I purchased $99 orchestra seats, row F, on the aisle. They’re not giving tickets away, but there is also a promo code: DOASEARLY