Redtwist Theatre

Michael Colucci 773-728-7529
August 27, 2007

PRESS RELEASE

The rarely produced, original version of
Arthur Miller’s classic tale of obsession
A View from the Bridge
Opens at Actors Workshop Theatre on Friday, October 12

Arthur Miller’s original concept for this legendary play
was a dark, spare, suspenseful tragedy with simple design elements
thus highlighting the fatal obsession and the descent into the abyss.

Miller’s concept and the original production of the Broadway play...

On September 29, 1955, A View from the Bridge premiered on Broadway in its original form. It was not a hit, had a brief run, and closed without fanfare. Miller decided to pull the play and never have it staged again. He envisioned the concept to be dark, spare, and minimalist regarding both the script and the set design, and that’s what first appreared on Broadway. Indulgent post-war audiences, however, wanted pizzazz and spectacle. Apparently, merely ten years after the dawning of the atomic age, humans were not quite ready for minimalism. A year after its brief opening run, Miller approved a more elaborately designed production in London that became a hit, and the play has been successful ever since. The playwright was flexible enough to accept the staging enhancements that made it more appealing to the preferences of that era, but it is clear he had a strong personal affinity for the original concept that, quite possibly, has not been seen since the original run.

The preface to the original version of the published play (now long out of print) was a revealing essay by Miller himself entitled On Social Plays. It seems Miller had grown weary of the commercialization and glitz of the Broadway theatre and its penchant for spectacle. He had been longing for a return to the essence of pure drama that characterized the powerful work of his heroes, such as Ibsen and Chekhov, and of course, the Greeks and Shakespeare. Thus, Miller devised the production to be stark with a relentlessly linear plot-line and few design adornments. AWT’s production will utilize the original script and adhere to Miller’s initial concept, which is well-suited to our intimate space.

Cast: Michael Colucci (Eddie); Johnny Garcia (Marco); Eva Gil (Catherine); Jan Ellen Graves (Beatrice); Michael Greco (Mike/First Officer); Andrew Jessop (Rodolfo); Tom Martinez (Louis/Second Officer); Sam Perry (Alfieri)

Crew/Staff: Michael Colucci and E. Malcolm Martinez (Directors); E. Malcolm Martinez (Stage Manager); Anders Jacobson (Set Design); John Kohn III (Lighting Design); Miles Polaski (Sound Design); Carrie Hardin (Costume Design/Dialect Coach); Orion Couling (Fight Design)