11:57:42 pm 
A Haunting Play Speaks to Our Times
Categories: UncategorizedTheatergoers are told early on that Arthur Miller's All My Sons is taking place in "August of our era," but this doesn't exactly jibe with the visuals from costume designer Tom Pye, who's provided some handsome period costumes that place Simon McBurney's riveting production within the era in which the play was written – the late 1940s. But, wait until the final moments of "Sons," when McBurney, aided by fine projection design from Finn Ross for Mesmer, has a coup de théâtre in store that makes the "of our era" abundantly and chillingly apparent.
"Sons," which won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best New Play in 1947, centers on the Keller family, which during the war suffered two extreme blows. Not only did the family's youngest son go missing in action and is presumed dead, patriarch Joe (John Lithgow) was embroiled in a business scandal: he and his partner were accused of knowingly supplying defective parts for aircraft being used in the war. Although Joe was exonerated, his partner was convicted of attempting to cover up the fraud, and the scandal has tainted Keller's reputation in his close-knit community.
Despite these events, the family, and particularly eldest son Chris (Patrick Wilson), is attempting to move on. Chris has been corresponding with Ann Deever (Katie Holmes), his brother's one-time girlfriend. Chris has invited Ann, who's been living in New York to the family home in Ohio, planning on asking her to marry him. Joe has also worked to move forward from his disgrace, and in fact, has regained the trust of many neighbors and re-established his business. It's only Kate (Dianne Wiest), the family's matriarch, who is unable to achieve some sort of normalcy in her life; she believes that her missing son is still alive and will return home any day. Joe is particularly worried that Chris' plan may destroy this illusion, and in essence, his wife.
There are other skeletons in the Kellers' closets and in "Sons" they come to light with the inexorability of Greek tragedy, yet this doesn't stop Miller from attempting to create a marvelous sense of bonhomie during the play's first act. Neighbors flit in and out of the Kellers' back yard (Pye's spare scenic design is a huge expanse of lawn flanked by two chain link fence gates and backed by an imposing clapboard wall which features just a screen door). Bert (Michael D'Addario), a neighborhood kid, treats Joe, who has "deputized" the boy as a community police officer, as if he were a grandfather. Frank (Jordan Gelber) and Lydia (a spunky Danielle Ferland) come in to joke with Joe and help Kate with small things. Another neighbor, Dr. Jim Bayliss (imbued with sad ennui by Damian Young) seems almost eerily drawn to the family, preferring to spend time with them rather than with his bitter wife (played pointedly by Becky Ann Baker).
The good nature of the moments with these characters stands in sharp contrast to what happens when the Kellers are interacting privately, with Ann and eventually her brother, George (Christian Camargo in one of the production's showier turns), who arrives after visiting his father in prison, and who spurs the family to confront many of the secrets that they have attempted to ignore.
McBurney's staging builds with an unwavering crescendo to its explosive conclusion. The history haunting the Kellers and Deever children is apparent not only in their words, but also in the effective period projections that punctuate the dialogue. The play's mystery is further enhanced by Christopher Shutt and Carolyn Downing's hauntingly eerie soundscape in which crickets sound almost metallic.
The intensity of the production is mirrored by three of the central performances. Lithgow makes for a commanding, and ultimately heartbreaking, Joe. Wiest's Kate seems to be almost a shadow until the play's final moments when she seemingly transforms into a sort of Midwestern housewife turned Fury. Wilson's portrayal of Chris is a marvelous combination of gentle sadness and anxious exuberance. These three Broadway veterans are joined by newcomer Holmes, who acquits herself admirably as Ann. Holmes has a compelling stage presence, and she seems to know Ann intimately. Unfortunately, Holmes has yet to master the difficult task of projecting vocally, and her performance is ultimately undermined by an unnecessary amount of shouting.
Holmes' credibility as Ann is all that matters in the long run, and contributes enormously to the success of McBurney's revival, which indeed ultimately ties Miller's tale of unscrupulous profiteering during war to "our era." The way in which it does so haunts well after the final curtain.
---- Andy Propst
All My Sons plays at the Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street). Performances are Tuesday at 7pm and Wednesday through Saturday at 8pm. Matinees are Wednesday and Saturday at 2pm and Sunday at 3pm. Tickets are $61.50 - $116.50 and can be purchased by calling 212-239-6200 or by visiting www.telecharge.com. Further information is available online at www.allmysonsonbroadway.com
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