(7 Oct 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCATED PRESS
New York - 22 August 2022
1. Director Miranda Cromwell introduces Wendell Pierce
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Wendell Pierce/Actor, on the expansive subtext of the play:
"I'm looking at them all. The disappointment of, the illusion of the American dream for some people, how the dream can become a nightmare, the inaccessibility of it for people. The development of mental illness, the personal reflection of 'are my best days behind me.' Then ultimately, it's about family and about love. You know, there's the - the timeless struggle between the father and the son. A father who was trying to leave his son with a legacy and with the power and tools to live a full life. Reflecting on the fact that he has failed at doing that at the end of his life, and how that - how that debilitates him. So a lot of times I've looked at all of those elements of it, and that's one of the great challenges of the play and challenges of the role to be so complex, to be multifaceted, to employ all that you have in your creative tool, to embellish all of those themes of the play. It's great writing, great production, great cast to work with, and a great personal journey for me. It is the high watermark of my career."
3. Director Miranda Cromwell with cast
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Wendell Pierce/Actor, on being prepared:
"It's a constant preparation to prepare for this role. It's, I started - I started the journey years ago when we did it in London. And it's been it's been haunting me, the preparation, just like Willy says in the play, 'there's a question that has been haunting me for - for 15 years,' you know. It is an ongoing continuum of a process. It's a real in-depth reflection of the human condition. And the best thing about being an actor is the fact that we are students of human behavior. We're the closest thing to what therapists do, you know, and to understand what it is about the human psyche that induces the behavior that we see in our lives, whether is dysfunctional or healthy. And so that journey is constant for me."
5. Cast poses for photo
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Wendell Pierce/Actor, on the magic of the play:
"I think the great thing about this is it's inspiring to do this because whether people are seeing it for the first time or seeing it for, you know, the 20th time, I'm really happy that new audiences are going to come to it to see our perspective. But I look forward to the people who have seen it for a long time. You know, Miller said it best himself. You know, at this point, you know, 'an actor hopes that his immortality comes from on some certain afternoon in a dusty theater he casts a shadow of a person who was not himself and gave voice to that unsung heart song that the ordinary man feels but never utters. And in doing that, we join the ages.' And so I hope to experience that with this."
7. Cast photo
STORYLINE:
WENDELL PIERCE CALLS HIS TURN AS WILLY LOMAN IN 'DEATH OF A SALESMAN' THE 'WATERMARK' OF HIS ACTING CAREER
Wendell Pierce hopes that heading a Black-led cast in a historic revival of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" goes beyond exposing the classic American play to a new audience.
"Whether people are seeing it for the first time or seeing it for, you know, the 20th time, I'm really happy that new audiences are going to come to it to see our perspective," Pierce said.
Pierce stars as the as aging and insecure travelling salesman Willy Loman, and Sharon D. Clarke, plays his loyal wife, Linda. With only a few minor changes, the play remains intact, with the exception that the Loman family is Black.
PRODUCTION: JOHN CARUCCI
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