Review: DEATH OF A SALESMAN at Ottawa Little Theatre

Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller’s classic tragedy about a man trying to achieve the American Dream, opened at Ottawa Little Theatre this week. The play was required reading for me in high school, and I will admit that, as a teenager, I despised it. I guess at that age and with my so-called "artistic temperament", I imagined that I didn’t care what people thought of me and I couldn’t put myself into Willy Loman’s shoes. As an adult, however, my lived experiences make it all too easy to see Willy’s world not only through his eyes, but those of his wife, Linda, and two adult sons, Biff and Happy. 

You see, 63-year-old Willy Loman (Scott Simms) just wants to be respected, and have his own piece of land, a mortgage-free house, and enough money to make ends meet without having to worry. Willy is a traveling salesman, which to our modern senses doesn’t seem like a career job, but this play was written in the 1940s when such jobs were commonplace. Willy believes that, in his line of work, one must be well-liked which will, in turn, lead to success, wealth, and respect. He returns home from his travels with tales of his recognition throughout his sales territory, how he is greeted like an old friend in each town he visits, and how large his sales are compared to his colleagues.

The problem is that this is all a lie.

The reality is that Willy is neither well-liked nor a successful salesman. In fact, his commission isn’t enough to cover the bills each week, and his life insurance premium is overdue. Linda (Venetia Lawless) listens admiringly to Willy’s stories and then quietly adjusts her budget downward. Biff (Dawson Fleming) and Happy (Michael Hart) revel in their father’s praise and struggle to please him. The Loman’s next door neighbour, Charley (Jim Potter), “lends” Willy the money to scrape by and reminds Willy of his longstanding offer of a steady job in the city, but Willy’s pride and ego render acceptance impossible. Charley’s son, Bernard (Adrian Volmer-Bruce), and Biff play out a stereotypical jock / nerd trope, except that in the present, the tables have turned: Bernard, Biff’s awkward friend who was once ecstatic at the thought of touching Biff’s football equipment, is now a successful lawyer about to argue a case before the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Biff has never held a long-term job and talks about going out West to work as a rancher, much to Willy’s disgust.

The characters are complex and sometimes their decisions are difficult to understand. Ultimately, everyone loves Willy and wants what is best for him, but Willy hangs onto his rigid image of what the American dream looks like. This creates resentment, anger, and despair for everyone, but perhaps especially for Willy himself.

The set design (Gillean Bernier) is crowded, squeezing in the Loman house’s two upper level bedrooms, the kitchen and entryway, as well as various other settings, when needed. These almost suffocating surroundings mirror the psychological environment of the characters. The lighting design by Doug George and Charlie Inglis helps the audience know where (and when) they are; however, cartoonish projections in the final scene are out of place and visually jarring. In my opinion, a simple black curtain backdrop would have been understated, but so much more impactful.

The narrative is told through a mixture of past, present and dreamlike memories, accomplished largely through George and Inglis' lighting as well as costume (Jeanne Gauthier) changes. Because Willy is exhibiting signs of dementia, he will sometimes join a character from the past in his mind, such as his brother Ben, (a strong performance by Donnie Laflamme), while physically remaining in the present with other characters. Even if it is difficult to imagine, Director Joanne Farrell does remarkable job ensuring that the audience is never confused. Particularly well executed is a restaurant scene where Willy has a such an intense flashback that I forgot where he was until we were abruptly wrenched back to reality. The cast give compelling performances, especially Lawless and Simms, who capture the emotional rollercoaster ride undertaken by their characters.

Fleming and Hart are convincing as siblings who are both competitive yet supportive of one another; they are united in their admiration of their father and want to shield him from their failures. Ultimately, Biff knows that he will be happier working with his hands on a farm. Ironically, Willy would have also been happier as a manual labourer, as he has demonstrated an ability to fix and build things around the house. Nonetheless, to please Willy, Biff schedules a visit to a former employer to request start of capital for a new business venture. Biff’s clothes are ill fitting; a metaphor for just how out of place he feels. Even as he dresses the part, he knows that he is not meant to be a businessman.

********************************** SPOILER ALERT **********************************

Biff and Willy seem to finally have a breakthrough towards the end, but like everything else in Willy’s life, it is merely an illusion. With the realization that there is nothing left to do but end his life, he frantically plants seeds in the dark in an attempt to leave something - anything - behind. Tragically, since the yard’s sunlight is blocked by new housing developments, we already know that these seeds will have no opportunity to flourish and are destined to have the same end as Willy. However, in his final act, Willy frees his wife and children from the oppression and malcontent they have had to endure in silence all these years. Through her grief in the Requiem, Linda realizes that she can finally move on with her life (the agony of which is brilliantly portrayed by Lawless), and Biff can seek his own version of the American Dream out west. In a twist, it is Happy who decides to follow in his father’s footsteps and, as the light fades, the audience can only hope that the cycle does not repeat itself.

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