The Resurrection of "All My Sons" at Guild Hall

I first read Arthur Miller’s award-winning play, All My Sons, more than forty years ago, when I was a playwriting major at the University of Connecticut, and it left an indelible mark on my heart. I had never seen a live performance of this play, but I did see the 1948, Irving Reiss movie version starring Edward G. Robinson, but that film didn’t seem to do justice to the original masterpiece.

I was, however, blessed to see the opening night performance of this Grecian-style tragedy, true to the Aristotelian unites of action, time, and place, in the John Drew Theater Saturday evening, and it was an unforgettable experience.

Joan Copeland, an American actress, who is the 93-year-old younger sister of the late Arthur Miller, was sitting across the aisle from me, and this reality only added to the high drama of a most memorable evening.

Back in the day, I heard in one of my playwriting classes that Arthur Miller’s first Broadway play, The Man Who Had All the Luck, bombed on Broadway, and how he vowed to find a new way to make a living if All My Sons didn’t make it. Thankfully, for the theatre world, this play, based on a true story about the Wright Aeronautical Corporation, was a success. I believe the character of Dr. Jim Bayliss, played expertly by Tuck Milligan in last night’s production, represents Miller’s own fears of what he and his life might become, if this venture didn’t fare well.

Joe Keller is the protagonist in this play, and under his watch, his factory shipped damaged aircraft engine cylinder heads during WWII, and as a result, twenty-one pilots died. The plays themes of social responsibility, culpability, and greed are as timely as ever, and I cite the recent General Motors massive car recalls to prove my point. Anyone following the GM fiasco involving faulty ignition switches, and the resultant 13 deaths and 31 crashes linked to this problem, knows that these defects were not disclosed by GM, but rather brought to light by Lance Cooper, an attorney who sued GM, proving that times may change, but people rarely do.

The Guild Hall production of All My Sons is expertly directed by Stephen Hamilton, the talented son-in-law of Julie Andrews, who, I was thrilled to see, was sitting up front watching the production with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton.

Michael Carnahan’s realistic set, depicting the back porch of the Keller’s all-American home, makes you feel as if you’re gazing over the fence into your neighbor’s backyard and watching that family fall apart right before your very eyes.

The original 1947 version of the play, as seen at the Coronet Theatre in New York, was a three-act play. I wasn’t surprised to see that it was re-shaped into a two-act one, since 21st Century audiences are more accustomed to the two-act format, so this slight change just gave the play a mini-facelift.

The entire cast is extraordinary, with Amagansett’s own Alec Baldwin adeptly portraying Joe Keller, the old-archetype-larger-than-life-type of father, who were like Machiavellian gods, to be both loved and feared. As Mr. Baldwin awaits the birth of his own firstborn son, I wondered how he felt playing the role of a fallen patriarch. By the way, Hilaria Baldwin, radiantly pregnant, just happened to be sitting right behind me.

Laurie Metcalf’s portrayal of Kate Keller, a mother who cannot face the reality of the death of her son, chills us to the bone. Ms. Metcalf’s heart wrenching performance makes us feel Kate’s angst, rage, and agony, as she waits in vain for her son’s return.

Ryan Eggold, perhaps best known for his role as Tom Keen in NBC’s hit drama “The Blacklist,” gives a riveting performance as Chris Keller, as does Catlin McGee, in her portrayal of Ann Deever, the love interest of both the Keller boys. David McElwee gives a very believable performance as her angry and confused brother.

Kudos goes to the actors portraying the Keller’s neighbors, Bethany Caputo, Ben Schnickel, and Alicia St. Louis, for making those characters spring to life.

Cashus Lee Muse, the talented, nine-year-old son of Nancy Atlas, a well-known East End singer/songwriter, made us fall in love with the character of Bert. He gushed with pride as Mr. Baldwin commented during the curtain call how this play was keeping the kids of Montauk off the streets.

During intermission, I went up to Ms. Copeland to mention how much her brother’s play still resonates with truth, almost seventy years after its first production. I asked her how she was enjoying the show, and she said that she was enjoying it very much, but then confessed that she was having trouble seeing over the man in front of her. I told her I was having a similar experience. Then, a miracle happened. After intermission, the people in the row in front of me began playing musical chairs, and suddenly one of the only vacant seats in the entire theatre was in front of me, giving me clear sight lines to the stage. A moment later, I looked over and saw Ms. Copeland speaking to the gentleman in front of her, and he graciously exchanged seats with her, giving her an unobstructed view of the play. As a professional psychic/medium, mercifully, the dead rarely commune with me when I’m not working, but I felt the presence of Mr. Miller in that empty seat in front of me. When the play ended and the crowd rose for a standing ovation, over the roar of the crowd and the thunder of applause, I heard Mr. Miller shout, “Bravo!”

The show is running until June 28. Go…see…enjoy…you never know who might show up!

Cindi Sansone-Braff has a BFA from the University of Connecticut. She is a playwright, an author, and a psychic/medium recommended by Newsday, featured in Cablevision’s Neighborhood Journal and the Sunday Daily News, and voted Best Psychic five years in a row by the readers of the Long Island Press.