Brian Dennehy will again don the rumpled garb of depleted drummer Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, in a fall Los Angeles remount of the smash 1998-99 Broadway staging, at the Ahmanson Theatre.
The limited run, produced by Center Theatre Group and the Broadway producers, will play L.A. Sept. 12-Nov. 5, with an official opening of Sept. 20. Robert Falls recreates his Tony Award-winning direction on Mark Wendland's whirring, multidimensional scenic design. This exclusive engagement brings the Tony Best Revival staging to Los Angeles audiences following the 1999 Broadway run that was eventually preserved on film and screened by Showtime.
Dennehy won a Best Actor (Play) Tony Award for his performance in the classic by Miller.
The revival of the 1949 drama, which chronicles the disintegrating mind, home life, expectations, career and spirit of salesman Willy Loman, began life at Chicago's Goodman Theater, where Falls is artistic director, and began previews on Broadway Jan. 22, 1999, closing Nov. 7, 1999, at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.
The revival staging opened in New York City Feb. 10, 1999 -- 50 years to the day since the original production of Salesman bowed on Broadway. No additional casting for L.A. has been announced, although Howard Witt and Ron Eldard, who played neighbor Charley and son Biff, respectively, on Broadway, have been mentioned by Variety as possibilities for the Ahmanson.
Death of a Salesman will be produced by Center Theatre Group, David Richenthal, Jujamcyn Theaters, Allan S. Gordon and Fox Theatricals in association with Jerry Frankel and Robert Cole. Designers are the Broadway staging's Birgit Rattenborg Wise (costumes), Michael Philipi (lighting) and Richard Woodbury (sound and original music).
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The 2000-2001 season at the Ahmanson includes tours of Swing! (Nov. 20-Jan. 14, 2001) and Contact (June 29, 2001-Aug. 26, 2001) and specially-produced Center Theatre Groups works, Romeo and Juliet, directed by Peter Hall (Feb. 8, 2001-April 1, 2001), and a new adaptation/revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song, revised by David Henry Hwang (April 29, 2001-June 24, 2001).
For subscription information, call (213) 628-2772 or try the web site at http://www.TaperAhmanson.com.
