DEATH OF A SALESMAN 2026 Reviews

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/9/26 at 4:46pm

[MezzA101]

Posted: 4/9/26 at 10:41pm

 A Cold, Perfect ‘Death of a Salesman’ for Our Time

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/09/theater/death-of-a-salesman-review-broadway-lane-metcalf.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z1A.zj4n.lhmKkPFdyS2j&smid=nytcore-android-share

[east side story]

Posted: 4/9/26 at 10:42pm

These raves are to be expected, and most importantly earned.

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 4/9/26 at 10:53pm

So many reviews are specifically lionizing the direction. Wonder if Mantello is on the way to his third Tony. 

[east side story]

Posted: 4/9/26 at 10:58pm

carolinaguy said: "So many reviews are specifically lionizing the direction. Wonder if Mantello is on the way to his third Tony."

I think so.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 4/9/26 at 10:59pm

REVIEWS

BWW Death Of A Salesman -  84.1 %

BWW review analysis percentages:   

NEW MUSICAL - 6 :  Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) (73.5),  The Queen of Versailles (40.0).

MUSICAL REVIVAL - 5 :  Cats: The Jellicle Ball (90.6),  Ragtime (82.4),  Mamma Mia! (68.0),   Chess (62..

NEW PLAY - 8 :  Little Bear Ridge Road (90.0),  Liberation (89.3),  Giant (77.2),  Punch (71.9),  Call Me Izzy (65.0), Dog Day Afternoon (51.3).

REVIVAL OF A PLAY - 11 :  Marjorie Prime (84.7),  Becky Shaw (84.4),  Oedipus (84.3),  Death Of A Salesman (84.1),  Bug (80.6),  Every Brilliant Thing (79.1),  Art (69.0),  Waiting For Godot (67.4).

* UPCOMING OPENINGS *

10 - Titanique, The Fear of 13, Proof, Fallen Angels, Schmigadoon!, The Balusters, Beaches, The Rocky Horror Show, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Lost Boys (with the most rehearsal, tech & preview time of the season).

Updated On: 4/10/26 at 10:59 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/9/26 at 11:26pm

DTLI Consensus: Perhaps one of the most moving Salesman stagings you’ll ever see.

13 positive (including the NYT), 2 negative, 1 mixed.

https://didtheylikeit.com/shows/death-of-a-salesman-3/

 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 4/9/26 at 11:28pm

DID THEY LIKE IT ?  

12 positive (& NYT critics pick), 1 mixed, 2 negative (The Wrap, Variety). 

One man and his family are caught up in the pressures and delusions of living the American Dream. Miller’s play is the story of a traveling salesman whose illusions of picture-perfect business and family life cave in on him. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman returns to Broadway, directed by Joe Mantello. Mantello’s production uncovers new layers in Miller’s masterpiece, revealing unexpected dimensions in a play that continues to resonate with ever more power.

LINK

Updated On: 4/9/26 at 11:28 PM

[bear882]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 12:43am

The main takeaway of the reviews I have scanned thus far is universal praise for Laurie Metcalf, even from the few critics who didn’t care for the revival. (I don’t have a New York subscription so only have a summary of Sara Holdren’s review.)

Joe Mantello’s direction gets a lot of praise, although Helen Shaw says his choices leave no question about Willy’s fate from the start, which she sees as a flaw - or at least a tradeoff - in an otherwise positive review.

The cast as a whole gets their flowers. Nathan Lane has to contend with the ghosts of Willy Lomans past as well as his own reputation as a Broadway performer, which in several reviews seems to undermine what I thought was an impressive and moving acting achievement. 

 

Updated On: 4/10/26 at 12:43 AM

[halfhourcheckwithmerman]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 12:51am

Helen Shaw is brilliant as always --- the Trump connection is fascinating. 

[bear882]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 3:15am

Shaw is taking advantage of the New York Times archives, which features two raves about the original production by Brooks Atkinson within a few days, as well as a piece by Miller which isn’t technically about Death of a Salesman but about what makes a good tragedy and why it shouldn’t be limited to kings and gods.

This is a smart choice, especially when evaluating a revival and the different directorial choices made by Joe Mantello.

[Ensemble1728379893]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 8:20am

Joe Mantello’s direction gets a lot of praise, although Helen Shaw says his choices leave no question about Willy’s fate from the start, which she sees as a flaw - or at least a tradeoff- in an otherwise positive review.


"

The title of the play is "Death of a Salesman"

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 8:43am

Ensemble1728379893 said: "

Joe Mantello’s direction gets a lot of praise, although Helen Shaw says his choices leave no question about Willy’s fate from the start, which she sees as a flaw - or at least a tradeoff- in an otherwise positive review."

The title of the play is "Death of a Salesman""

 

Which she specifically addresses in the review by quoting Miller himself:

"But in his essay, Miller is clear that Willy’s defeat must not be a foregone conclusion. Whatever the title might tell you about the outcome, “the possibility of victory must be there in tragedy,” Miller wrote. We should believe the guy can make it, every time."

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 9:22am

Unless the industry somehow wants to give some answer to Scott Rudin, with this amount of acclaim and the likely 2 nominations at the same night, Laurie Metcalf is 100% taking.

Who is her biggest competition? Linda Emond? Kara Young?

[east side story]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 9:24am

With these reviews and word of mouth, Metcalf will win in either category they place her in. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 9:36am

These feel like the most effusive reviews of the season?

Getting dubbed “perfect” by the NYT is pretty great for their advertising. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 10:25am

86 on Broadway Scorecard, critical gold. 

“Lane electrifies in Mantello's stark, stripped-down revival that finds fresh urgency in Miller's classic, though some critics find the stylized approach emotionally distancing. Metcalf's Linda earns particular praise.”

https://broadwayscorecard.com/show/death-of-a-salesman

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 10:47am

EDSOSLO858 said: "86on Broadway Scorecard,critical gold.

https://broadwayscorecard.com/show/death-of-a-salesman"

Not sure how DOAS has higher ranking on this site to something like Becky Shaw, who technically had better reviews.   I guess it's new and needs tinkering .... 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 12:50pm

There was much discussion in the previews thread about the time this revival is set in (crucially, while the last few revivals specified the 1940s in the Playbill, this one does not). I liked this bit in Holdren's review:

https://www.vulture.com/article/theater-review-lane-metcalf-death-of-a-salesman.html

"The dirt scattered across Mantello’s stage is both garden and grave: It’s Willy’s tiny plot of land, where he’s hoped to grow carrots and peas and big, heroic American men, and where he’ll end up being buried. Atop it sits another super-significant object, one that’s even on the posters outside — the salesman’s car, symbol of mobility, forward and upward. The vehicle blinds us with its headlights as it pulls slowly into the playing space, and its shrouded interior allows for the appearance and disappearance of actors as if in a magician’s puff of smoke. Crucially, it’s not the Studebaker Willy really drives in his late middle age, but the red Chevy he used to own, a dream car for a dream play. At least, that’s the implication — maybe, as this deep dive points out, it’s a Ford, seemingly from the ’60s, not the ’40s, but such anachronism feels in keeping with the production’s slippery approach to time: Willy’s odious boss Howard, played with toxic smarm by John Drea, looks like a contemporary tech bro. He’s a messenger from a future of maximized efficiency and shareholder value, complete with thermal vest and Starbucks-style to-go cup."

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 1:38pm

I'm with Chris Peterson

[JSquared2]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 1:45pm

CarlosAlberto said: "I'm with Chris Peterson"

 

Cool -- and once again Peterson shows us all what a sanctimonious blowhard he is.

[east side story]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 1:48pm

CarlosAlberto said: "I'm with Chris Peterson"

The box office will have no issue selling the ticket you insist on letting us all know you will not be buying.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 1:53pm

I do have a right to voice my opinion on a public internet forum - and I did. Sorry, not sorry you're triggered. 

[east side story]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 3:29pm

I wondered how long it would take before someone said the “T” word, which is more applicable to the folks bemoaning Rudin’s continued success. Have a great weekend, though!

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/10/26 at 4:09pm

east side story said: "I wondered how long it would take before someone said the “T” word, which is more applicable to the folks bemoaning Rudin’s continued success. Have a great weekend, though!"

You've spent today mocking people in two different threads for having principles. Who knew that not wanting one's money to support a bad person was worthy of such derision? Or is it simply the fact that they're saying so?