Mrs Loman

Mrs. Loman, which has a running time of 90 minutes is very good for the first 35 minutes. Writer Barbra Cassidy starts the play out with little snippets of the Loman family right after the death of father, Willy Loman. The shows first scene has Linda Loman (Monique Vukovic), Biff (Matt McGlade), Happy (Hartley Parker), Charlie, Willy's long time friend and confident. The fifth person, Bernard(Joe Gregori), who was a small figure in "Death of A Salesman" was on to bigger and better things as a lawyer who argued before the Supreme Court, here, he is a big part of the Loman's life in Brooklyn, N.Y..

Like "Death", Biff has not found his footing in life as of yet. In the book, Biff was never able to dominate adulthood like he did when he was a High School standout in football. Happy is doing better, he is well dressed and articulate. Both have problems that run deeply, however. Biff steals for the sake of stealing; Happy is a deviant and not a pleasant person to be around.While their mother is not so taken by her children like Willy was, she loves them as they are. She has no delusions about them and is more easy spirited and less prodding.

In Megan Finn's direction, the actors are for the most part able to get the message across that Cassidy wants out of her characters. While the show never hits the highs and lows of "Death of A Salesman", Finn keeps the action moving. Even as the writing spirals, the direction never gets to fast nor slow.

Where Cassidy gets away from a great start is that she tries to be to edgy (she has Linda smoking pot and going to Jazz clubs). Cassidy adds a risque neighbor named Esther (Linda Jones). Ester is a bi-sexual and a modern woman for that time period. Never married, it is believed that she and Willy had a fling at some point in time. She know has become Linda's best friend. Cassidy could have focused more on Esther as the program states that this a feminist critique of Arthur Miller's "Death". Esther was the perfect segue to a modern feminist piece. Instead, Cassidy just dabbled in this and never goes deep enough.

" Mrs. Loman's" costumes catch the era perfectly(Patricia Marjorie who also did the props and played The Contemporary Woman). The scenic design too is very well done in this small stage (Christopher and Justin Swader). With both side lighting and conventional lighting, Brian Aldous did a remarkable job bringing this era piece front and center.

It would have been a much better play if Cassidy didn't bring needless politics into it. When Biff brings his negro bar-tending girlfriend home, Lena(Ara Celia Butler), the message could have been more like "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" themes. Instead, Cassidy has Lena, Biff, Esther and Linda discussing the Nazi's, the atomic bomb, segregation, slavery and the writing just becomes inane and meaningless. It was like Cassidy just wanted to complain and criticize rather than dealing with more meaningful, pertinent subjects about the play at hand. Her over reach in this dialogue makes it a third rate play and she loses the audience at the same time.

"Mrs. Loman" could have been a better play. Instead, Cassidy tries to bring in too much in the way of various topics. She should have had more interaction with Biff and Happy. Both actors were very good in the cross dialogue between one another. Even when Charlie and Bernard were in the play, they too were a welcomed addition to the play. While most of the actors were very good, they had to much mediocrity in the writing to really bring forth their talents.

Broadway, Tony Awards, "Death of A Salesman", Arthur Miller", Dramatists Guild, The Drama League, "The Lion King, "Aladdin".