Death of a Salesman

by Arthur Miller Narrated by Steven Culp, Maureen Flannigan, Jane Kaczmarek, Jason Henning, John Sloan, Kate Steele, Kathryn Meisle, Kenneth Alan Williams, Sam McMurray, Stacy Keach, Tim Monsion

Overview

Stacy Keach and Jane Kaczmarek star in Arthur Miller's 1949 masterpiece, a searing portrait of the physical, emotional, and psychological costs of the American dream. Willy Loman (Keach) is the play's iconic traveling salesman, whose family is torn apart by his desperate obsession with success and social acceptance. As his two sons cast about aimlessly for their station in life, Willy begins to come unraveled when the reality of his life threatens his long-cherished illusions.

Recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles in March 2011.

Directed by Eric Simonson

Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg

An L.A. Theatre Works full cast performance featuring:

Steven Culp as Biff Loman

Maureen Flannigan as Letta/Jenny

Jason Henning as Bernard/Stanley

Jane Kaczmarek as Linda Loman

Stacy Keach as Willy Loman

Kathryn Meisle as The Woman

Tim Monsion as Uncle Ben

Sam McMurray as Charley

John Sloan as Happy Loman

Kate Steele as Miss Forsythe

Kenneth Alan Williams as Howard

Recording, Editing and Mixing Engineer: Mark Holden for The Invisible Studios, West Hollywood

Sound Effects Artist: Tony Palermo

Editorial Reviews

Audiofile

The touchstone of all audio stage drama.

New York Times Book Review

A contemporary classic....Listen to this album.

From the Publisher

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Winner of the National Book Award Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters

"By common consent, this is one of the finest dramas in the whole range of the American theater." —Brooks Atkinson, The New York Times

"So simple, central, and terrible that the run of playwrights would neither care nor dare to attempt it." —Time

Product Details

BN ID:	2940175386807
Publisher:	L.A. Theatre Works
Publication date:	02/22/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

INTRODUCTION

Note to Teacher

 

ABOUT ARTHUR MILLER

Arthur Miller was born in New York City in 1915 and studied at the University of Michigan. His plays include All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), A View from the Bridge and A Memory of Two Mondays (1955), After the Fall (1963), Incident at Vichy (1964), The Price (1968), The Creation of the World and Other Business (1972) and The American Clock. He has also written two novels, Focus (1945), and The Misfits, which was filmed in 1960, and the text for In Russia (1969), Chinese Encounters (1979), and In the Country (1977), three books of photographs by his wife, Inge Morath. More recent works include a memoir, Timebends (1987), and the plays The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (1991), The Last Yankee (1993), Broken Glass (1993), which won the Olivier Award for Best Play of the London Season, and Mr. Peter's Connections (1998). His latest book is On Politics and the Art of Acting. Miller was granted with the 2001 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He has twice won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and in 1949 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize.

 

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Preparing to Read

1. How is the American Dream characteristic of American ideals and philosophy? What are the differences between the materialistic and the idealistic values associated with the American Dream?

Understanding the Story

Act One

Writing Responses

Exploring Further

* included in the Viking Critical Library edition
** excerpted in the Viking Critical Library edition

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