Celebrating American culture doesn’t always sound like fireworks and look like waving flags. The UCSB theater department’s upcoming production of All My Sons, for instance, brings the work of a celebrated American playwright (Arthur Miller) to the stage for the continued inspection of the American ethos. Written and originally produced on Broadway in 1946-47, All My Sons follows a post-WWII family settling into the glow of midwestern, suburban comfort, while also managing the fallout from the years of war.
In the play, Joe Keller and his wife are suffering the loss of one of their sons in battle. Joe is also trying to dust away the filth of scandal after his manufacturing business was accused of providing defective airplane equipment to the military, resulting in American fatalities.
“I was thrilled at the chance to take on what I believe is Arthur Miller’s best play,” says director Sara Rademacher, describing the show as exploring the quality of morality within the brutality of capitalism. “All My Sons questions the justification of success and survival when it comes at the cost of another man’s sacrifice,” she says. “It truly asks what responsibility and accountability mean in modern society … and asks if those ideals are even possible.”
The show features BFA students as well as performers from a variety of majors and employs a cooperative approach in its staging. “The main focus of this project is to deepen acting technique through process, using a powerful and sturdy text,” says Rademacher. “While the play is being performed in the Performing Arts Theater and will have some design elements, there are no designers on the show. The actors also worked as designers and production team throughout the process.”
See this classic American dramatic work at UCSB’s Performing Arts Theater November 12-15 and join the ongoing conversation about the pitfalls of the American dream. See tinyurl.com/edzz3jw7.
You must be logged in to post a comment.