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<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Bold
staging helps Lakeland’s ‘Salesman’ <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><B style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></B></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Bob
Abelman<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">News-Herald,
Chagrin Valley Times, Solon Times, Geauga Times
Courier<o:p></o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Member,
International Association of Theatre Critics <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"
class=MsoNormal align=center><I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></I></P>
<P style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0in 0in 10pt" class=MsoNormal
align=center><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #1f497d; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
review appeared in the <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">News-Herald
</I>2/12/10</SPAN><SPAN
style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Sure,
Arthur Miller’s classic drama <I style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Death of a
Salesman</I> is about </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">an aging,
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">road-weary
</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">traveling salesman
named Willy Loman who has lost his job, his self-worth and, consequently, his
grip on reality.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>And, yes, it
offers commentary on traditional American values, the state of the family, and
the heartbreaking ramifications of the mistakes we make and </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">the
paths we take.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">This
is a marvelous story, but what makes </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><EM>Death
of a Salesman</EM> such an enduring drama is that it is a masterful piece of
storytelling. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Miller
brilliantly depicts Willy’s steady decline into dementia as distortions in time,
where Willy’s mind involuntarily drifts back to moments in the past that are
relived and reinvented while his weary body remains anchored to the
present.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>He interacts with his long
dead older brother as well as younger, idealized versions of his wife, two sons
and neighbors. <o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">To
his credit, director Martin Friedman decided to key in on and accentuate these
moments in his production at the Lakeland Civic Theatre.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The result is both intriguing and
effective.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Friedman
commissioned set designer Trad A. Burns to not only build a standard interior of
the Loman home, where most of the play’s action takes place, but to construct an
omni-present, distorted mirror image attached to it.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is here, within this incomplete,
detail-less and increasingly shadowy parallel realm, that Willy’s troubled mind
takes refuge.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">To emphasize the
significance and disturbance of these ephemeral moments, Friedman keeps Willy’s
wife, Linda, in the family kitchen during their occurrence rather than off stage
as the script suggests.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Early in
the play, she overhears Willy’s interactions with manifestations from his past,
which is heartbreaking.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Later, when
the script calls for a young Linda to be a part of Willy’s delusions, Friedman
keeps Willy tethered to the real world by retaining old Linda, who participates
in his dementia-driven conversations in order to soften his suffering. <SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>It is only after Willy’s condition
progresses and he is less connected to the real world that a young Linda is
introduced.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">All
this places an added burden on the actress playing older Linda.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Maryann Elder bears it beautifully.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>She captures this woman’s indomitable
spirit and adoration for her husband, as well as the wear and tear of years of
self-sacrifice, emotional duress and, now, her husband’s demise.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Mark
Cipra offers a less abrasive, more worn-down Willy than is typically
portrayed.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In doing so, he has
created a more accessible and sympathetic character.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>This seems to weaken Willy’s power over
his family, but it does render his emotional instability and his forays into
flashback even more painful and pathetic.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Cipra is a master craftsman and an absolute pleasure to
watch.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">With
Willy being a more sympathetic salesman, more responsibility for the family’s
dysfunction is placed on his sons.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Christopher Richards, as older Biff, and Joe Pine, as older Happy,
respond accordingly, delivering honest and believable portrayals.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Richards’ face-to-face confrontation
with his father who, by that point, is lost in delusion, is one of the most
moving moments of the evening.<SPAN
style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">This
production is not without flaws.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>Performances offered by secondary characters are uneven, although Robert
McCoy as Uncle Ben and Stuart Hoffman as Howard Wagner, Willy’s young boss,
nicely hold up their end.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>The
construction of parallel worlds proves to be occasionally problematic, for it
truncates the Loman home, which impacts on the players’ freedom of
movement.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>There is also an instance
when older Biff and older Happy exit the stage by crossing into Willy’s imagined
world, which is awkward and downright confusing.<o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">These
are minor things, really.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">Arthur
Miller’s 60-year-old play holds up beautifully and this Lakeland Community
College production does it proud.<SPAN
class=apple-style-span><o:p></o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
class=apple-style-span><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><I
style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">Death
of a Salesman </SPAN></I><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">continues
through </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">February 21 (Fridays
and Saturdays, 7:30 p.m., Sunday Matinees, 2 p.m.) at Lakeland Civic Theatre,
7700 Clocktower Drive, Kirtland.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
</SPAN>For tickets, which range from $5 to $</SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: black; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">15,
call </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'">440-525-7526
or visit </SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><A
href="" target=_blank><SPAN
style="COLOR: #003399">martinfriedman98@yahoo.com</SPAN></A><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P style="LINE-HEIGHT: normal; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial','sans-serif'; COLOR: #333333; FONT-SIZE: 12pt"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></P></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>