DEATH OF A SALESMAN

Background Notes

by Soulpepper Associate Artist Toby Malone

When Arthur Miller first sat down to write what would become Death of a Salesman in a custom-built shed in rural Connecticut, he built on one line - "it's all right, I came back" - and a lifelong fascination with the types of men it took to travel America's lonely roads to sell household goods in strange cities. Written over an intense six-week period in 1948, the play that Miller at one stage named Inside of His Head became, in the hands of director Elia Kazan, an instant Broadway classic. The role of Willy Loman, created by the legendary Lee J. Cobb, has taken its place as one of the sternest tests for a senior actor, and has been met by figures including Paul Muni, Dustin Hoffman, George C. Scott, Brian Dennehy, and, in 2012, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Soulpepper Founding Member Joseph Ziegler joined these impressive ranks in 2010 with a heart-breaking, universally lauded, Dora Award-winning interpretation of Willy Loman. Albert Schultz's hard-hitting production, which also featured acclaimed performances from Nancy Palk and Ari Cohen, was such a success that it was a favourite to return for the 2012 season. Ziegler gives a masterful rendition of the prideful, hard-working Willy, a man who believes in the 'American Dream', of reward in his golden years if he works conscientiously and tirelessly for his whole life. As Willy begins to lose his touch for his work, memories of the time when hope reigned and success was within his reach flood over him. The human weaknesses highlighted and even cultivated by a pressure to succeed are visited both on Willy and his sons, culminating in a catastrophe which did not have to be inevitable.