Mike Nichols returned to Broadway in 2012 to direct a production of Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman. It was the fifth adaptation of the classic play to grace the Great White Way, after the original production in 1949 and revivals in 1975, 1984, and 1999. Nichols attempted an unusually traditional staging of the show, creating a theatrical experience that was very similar to what the original audiences must have seen back in the 1940s. By hearkening back to Broadways golden age, he celebrates everything good that American theater has to offer. Death of a Salesman had a pretty impressive amount of star power behind it, with Andrew Garfield as Biff and the late Philip Seymour Hoffman playing Willy Loman. They may not have been obvious choices (Hoffman was a tad young for the role at 44, and Andrew Garfield was too lanky and slight-looking to play the masculine, athletic Biff) but nevertheless Nichols was able to coax thoughtful, nuanced performances from all of his actors.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
