Pierce portrays Willy as a hero for both his time and ours - a complex human being with grave character flaws, but “a good man” for all that. In the postwar America they knew in 1948, Miller’s protagonist seemed almost anti-American.īut as this production from the Young Vic Theatre in London reminds us, Arthur Miller’s 1949 drama packs a mighty punch. It’s worth remembering that back when Arthur Miller’s now-celebrated American tragedy originally opened on Broadway, many people were unsettled by the floundering character of Willy. And who knows what other, future interpreters might find in the character.
There’s no doubt that casting a Black actor as Willy Loman (for the first time on Broadway, no less) adds a deeper dimension to this monumental role.
