Review: A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE from Stagecraft at the Gryphon Theatre

Arthur Miller is a legendary playwright, having penned classics such as Death of a Salesman and The Crucible.

Stagecraft have taken on another of his well known offerings A View From The Bridge. 

Set in an Italian-American neighborhood on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge, the play follows the unraveling of Eddie Carbone (Jesse Hinton) following the arrival of two of his wife’s cousins from Italy. Eddie is obsessed with his niece, Catherine (Lara Strong), and threatened by her relationship with one of the cousins. Told from the viewpoint of the narrator(Angelica Thomas), a lawyer recounting the story, it was a compelling piece of theatre and I was captivated throughout. 

The cast were excellent. All were perfect for their roles and most had their accents down so well, you’d think you really were in Brooklyn. 

The set was quite simple with three large rail tracks laid to make the stage which was surrounded on all three sides by the audience. The tracks were used for seating throughout the play and for the most part sight lines were excellent. Even when some cast were sitting with their backs to you, you could often see their faces as they turned to talk to each other, giving the audience a different, more interesting viewing angle than normal for a play. 

Lighting (by Angela Wei) was unobtrusive yet very effective and added to the professionalism of this production. 

Jesse Hinton as the lead held the audience from his entrance. A compelling and convincing performance that set the bar for the rest of the cast. 

Equally, Lara Strong as Catherine was outstanding as the innocent niece who is the focus of this story. Her story arc was fully realised and excellently portrayed. 

Sarah-Beth Brown as Beatrice, Eddie’s wife, rounds out the leads with a strong heartbreaking performance as it becomes clear to her what is happening between Eddie, Catherine and Rodolpho (Rio Futschek-Ryan) the single immigrant who wants desperately to stay in the US. 

Polaiu’amea Kirifi as Marco, the married immigrant trying to make some money to send home to his family made the most of his opportunities on stage with a moody performance. 

One of my favourite scenes was when Eddies friends (George Kenward Parker and Nick Edwards) came to visit and were recounting how funny Rodolpho was. It was infectious laughter coming from the three that led to the audience laughing themselves for no real reason. 

Expertly directed by Kate Morris, this was an excellent start to the season for Stagecraft. I would urge you to go, but sadly the remainder of the season is sold out. 

Many of the audience gave this a standing ovation and it deserved it.

Bravo 

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