Montana Rep's ALL MY SONS Coming to the MAC, 3/5

The Montana Repertory Theatre production of Arthur Miller's classic, "All My Sons" comes to the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage, Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. "Told against the single setting of an ordinary American backyard, it is a pitiless analysis of character that gathers momentum all evening and concludes with both logic and dramatic impact" (New York Times). This award-winning drama helped launch the successful and critically acclaimed career of one of America's greatest 20th-century playwrights.

Based upon a true story, "All My Sons" dramatizes a 24-hour series of events which Joe Keller, the owner of a small manufacturing business, is forced to accept his guilt for selling defective airplane engine parts to the U.S. Air Force during World War II, as well as the subsequent effects this has on his family. A uniquely American play, "All My Sons" established Miller as a powerful storyteller with keen insight into the struggles of everyday men and women. The power of Miller's story explaining war's consequences for both veterans and civilians-including honor, sacrifice, guilt, honesty, hope and love-is as relevant today as when the play premiered.

"All My Sons" opened on Broadway in January 1947 and ran for 328 performances. It was directed by Elia Kazan (to whom it is dedicated), and won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award. "All My Sons" was adapted for film in 1948, starred Edward G. Robinson as Joe Keller. The 1987 Broadway revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. More recently, another Broadway revival was mounted in 2008 starred Tony Award winner John Lithgow, Academy Award winner Dianne Wiest, and Katie Holmes, in her Broadway debut.

Arthur Miller (1915-2005) is universally regarded as one of the 20th Century's greatest playwrights, having authored such classes as "Death of a Salesman," "The Crucible" and "A View from the Bridge," and having been honored with numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, and several Tony Awards. Miller spent the majority of his teenage years working around the city in order to save for a college education. In 1938 he graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor's degree in English. Miller's passion for playwriting also came with much disappointment. After several failed plays, Miller said that "All My Sons" was his final play, and if it was not successful he was going to focus his energies on journalism. "All My Sons" was a hit, and Miller went on to write more than two dozen more plays between 1959 and 2004 including "Death of A Salesman," "The Crucible," "A View from the Bridge." The cast for "All My Sons" includes Mike Boland (Joe Keller), who has been seen on Broadway in "An Enemy of People," he has also been in several Broadway National Tours; Laurie Dawn (Kate Keller) has worked on several television shows, such as "Law and Order: SVU" and Meg Kiley Smith (Ann Deever), a founding member and education director of MaineStage Shakespeare. Other cast members include: Elizabeth Bennett as Lydia Lubey; Scoob Decker as Dr. Jim Bayliss; Ryan Luwe as Bert; Sue Bayliss as Cahilan Shine; Colton Swibold as Chris Keller; Mason Wagner as George Deever; and Sam Williamson as Frank Lubey.

The creative team for "All My Sons" includes Jere Lee Hodgin (director), Michael Fink (scenic design), Chris Milodragovic (costume design), Mike Monsos (lighting design) and Zach Hamersley (audio design). Stage managers are Hope Rose Kelly and Heidi Mudd.

This presentation is supported by the Arts Midwest Touring Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from Illinois Arts Council, the Crane Group and General Mills Foundation.

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