Nathan Lane is featured in a piece in today’s edition of The Guardian US. He’s currently on Broadway, starring in a new production of Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman”. The article is here.
“Lane is exceptional in the role, evoking a searing meta-awareness of his own life as a performer. Like him, Loman is a man who lives and dies on his ability to sell a high-spirited fantasy, only Miller’s character can’t see that his audience has long moved on, and can see through his act. Lane is clear-eyed about the character’s significance, and points to “Cobb’s wounded lion, Dustin’s tiny tyrant”, and “[Brian] Dennehy’s bipolar mountain of a man”, and seems comfortable leaving it to audiences to decide what his interpretation adds to that lineage.”
I wondered if any of those performances are on YouTube. They all are.
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a 1949 stage play written by the American playwright Arthur Miller. The play premiered on Broadway on February 10, 1949, running for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in late 1940s Brooklyn told through a montage of memories, dreams, and arguments of the protagonist Willy Loman, a travelling salesman who is despondent with his life and appears to be slipping into senility. The play addresses a variety of themes, such as the American Dream, the anatomy of truth, and infidelity. It won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. Since its premiere, the play has been revived on Broadway five times, winning three Tony Awards for Best Revival. It has been adapted for the cinema ten times.
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an actor and playwright. Among his most popular plays are All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), and A View from the Bridge (1955). He wrote several screenplays, including The Misfits (1961).
Miller was often in the public eye, particularly during the late 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. During this time, he received a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee, and married Marilyn Monroe.
— Excerpted from Wikipedia
YouTube Video Versions
The playwright, Arthur Miller, was a controversial figure. Conflicting evidence and testimony exists concerning his association with members of the Communist Party. If you watch any version of this play, you will likely come away with the feeling that Miller, at the very least, had very strong anti-capitalist views. That doesn’t make him a communist; and he publicly denied that he was, under oath. But, the play is a clear repudiation of capitalism and “The American Dream.” It’s really quite tragic.
Below are four versions of Death of a Salesman available for free on YouTube. None of these videos contain ads. But YouTube inserts ads into the stream, unless you subscribe to YouTube Premium.
Starring Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman
This is a movie, but it’s staged like a play, with minimalist sets. There is no audience; it’s not a live performance. Lee J. Cobb gives an outstanding performance.
With Dustin Hoffman in the Lead Role
I have not yet watched this one.
Starring the inimitable Brian Dennehy
This is the one to see. This is a play, filmed live in front of an audience. Brian Denehy fans will delight in his performance.
Fredric March as Willy
This is produced as a movie, with no attempt to make it feel like a play. This version gets high praise in the comments section.