Lyman and MacDonald to Headline All My Sons at Huntington

By Adam Hetrick
08 Dec 2009

David Esbjornson will stage Arthur Miller's Tony Award-winning family drama All My Sons for the Huntington Theatre Company in 2010. Boston veteran actors Will Lyman and Karen MacDonald will star as family patriarch Joe Keller, his wife Kate, respectively.



Performances will play Jan. 8-Feb. 7, 2010. An official opening has been set for Jan. 13, 2010, at the Boston University Theatre.

Esbjornson also staged the premieres of Miller's The Ride Down Mt. Morgan and Resurrection Blues.

The All My Sons cast will also include Lee Aaron Rosen as Chris, Diane Davis as Ann, Stephanie DiMaggio as Lydia Lubey, Owen Doyle as Frank Lubey, Ken Cheeseman as Doctor Bayliss, Dee Nelson as Sue Bayliss and Michael Tisdale as George. Andrew and Spencer Evett alternate in the role of Bert.

"One of the reasons the play succeeds is because all of the characters want something desperately," Esbjornson said in a statement. "All My Sons is really not about whether someone has done something wrong, but about denial. There are no obvious villains here, just people who are afraid, who have made really bad choices and then tried to run away from them. These characters are each in conflict, caught in a self-made purgatory. Most of the actors in the cast are from the Boston area. It's really going to be a thrill for me to get to know this pool of actors."

All My Sons, according to the Huntington, "is the story of family man and small business owner Joe Keller in the years following World War II. Keller continues to strive for the American Dream, despite being shaken by both the public shame of his company's sale of faulty airplane parts to the government and the personal tragedy of his son who went missing-in-action. His wife Kate is trapped by her grief, while their elder son Chris yearns to move forward. When Chris announces his plan to marry his absent brother's fiancée, Kate must confront her denial of the war's fatalities, Chris his father's fallibility and moral compromises, and Joe his true responsibilities to his family and to his country."

Designing the resident production are scenic designer Scott Bradley, costume designer Elizabeth Hope Clancy, lighting designer Christopher Akerlind and sound designer and composer John Gromada.

Miller's 1947 drama earned Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Dirctor (Elia Kazan). The play was revived on Broadway in 1987 and most recently in 2008 with an all-star cast including John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Patrick Wilson and Katie Holmes.

Tickets are available by calling (617) 266-0800 or by visiting Huntington Theatre. The Huntington Theatre Company performs on the Boston University main stage, located at 264 Huntington Avenue in Boston, MA.