This Great Country, adapted by 600 Highwaymen
from Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
April - May 2012 as part of the Fusebox Festival at the Lucky Lady Bingo Hall, Austin Texas
More about 600 Highwaymen here.
More about the FuseBox Festival here.
In the Press:
"And when children play adults, the show really sings. There is no finer moment than Willy Loman, played by a very young woman in a Mia Farrow haircut, groveling before his much younger boss, played by a mop-topped grammar school kid. When Loman shrieks 'I held you in my arms!' in soprano before a tiny boy, the relationship between Miller's characters goes prismatic. The desperate power struggle is as much babysitter and babysat as it is man and boy, or boss and underling."
--Austinist
"One of the real innovations of this production is cross-casting, having multiple actors play multiple roles across age, race, and gender. The cast was all local and ranged in age from 7-70 with a wide variety of experience levels.
The scene where Howard, Willy's boss, fires him, was played entirely by kids --
a young boy playing Howard, fired a teenage/early 20's (boyish) girl in a suit. It was effective and affecting."
—Culturebot
"The production used multiple actors to play several of the characters, including children (who gracefully handled the complex material). This makes the scene where Willie Loman — the titular salesman — is fired by his much younger boss especially fascinating to watch: The executive is played by a ten year old. By the time Willie delivers the line,
'I'm not a dime a dozen,' it's clear that's exactly what he actually is."
--Culture Map Austin
"Currently, the building is painted bright pink and is home to a Mexican restaurant and a vast bingo parlor. Everything about the 4,000 square-foot bingo hall as a place where the chance might just lead to dreams come true
seemed perfect for a reconsidered Death of a Salesman."
—Austin360
More about the FuseBox Festival here.
In the Press:
"And when children play adults, the show really sings. There is no finer moment than Willy Loman, played by a very young woman in a Mia Farrow haircut, groveling before his much younger boss, played by a mop-topped grammar school kid. When Loman shrieks 'I held you in my arms!' in soprano before a tiny boy, the relationship between Miller's characters goes prismatic. The desperate power struggle is as much babysitter and babysat as it is man and boy, or boss and underling."
--Austinist
"One of the real innovations of this production is cross-casting, having multiple actors play multiple roles across age, race, and gender. The cast was all local and ranged in age from 7-70 with a wide variety of experience levels.
The scene where Howard, Willy's boss, fires him, was played entirely by kids --
a young boy playing Howard, fired a teenage/early 20's (boyish) girl in a suit. It was effective and affecting."
—Culturebot
"The production used multiple actors to play several of the characters, including children (who gracefully handled the complex material). This makes the scene where Willie Loman — the titular salesman — is fired by his much younger boss especially fascinating to watch: The executive is played by a ten year old. By the time Willie delivers the line,
'I'm not a dime a dozen,' it's clear that's exactly what he actually is."
--Culture Map Austin
"Currently, the building is painted bright pink and is home to a Mexican restaurant and a vast bingo parlor. Everything about the 4,000 square-foot bingo hall as a place where the chance might just lead to dreams come true
seemed perfect for a reconsidered Death of a Salesman."
—Austin360
Cast
Lowell Bartholomee, Caleb Barwick, Kelli Bland, Matthew Scott Butterfield, Candice Carr, Mike Dellens,
Lana Dieterich, Ashley Kaye Johnson, Will Johnson, Lucy Kaminsky, Alexa Kelly, Derek Kolluri, Cain Nocera, Emily Rankin,
Michael Sparkman, Rohit Srinivasan, Victor Steele
Production Staff
Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone - Directors
Megan M. Reilly - Lighting Designer
Adrian Croom - Sound Supervisor
Kate Blumm - Producing Director
Leigh Fulcher, Megan McQuaid - Production Assistants
Photo credit: Will Hollis Snyder
Lowell Bartholomee, Caleb Barwick, Kelli Bland, Matthew Scott Butterfield, Candice Carr, Mike Dellens,
Lana Dieterich, Ashley Kaye Johnson, Will Johnson, Lucy Kaminsky, Alexa Kelly, Derek Kolluri, Cain Nocera, Emily Rankin,
Michael Sparkman, Rohit Srinivasan, Victor Steele
Production Staff
Abigail Browde and Michael Silverstone - Directors
Megan M. Reilly - Lighting Designer
Adrian Croom - Sound Supervisor
Kate Blumm - Producing Director
Leigh Fulcher, Megan McQuaid - Production Assistants
Photo credit: Will Hollis Snyder