“All My Sons” Makes For a Powerful Season Opener for NJT

All My Sons
by Arthur Miller
Directed by Gary Wayne Barker
New Jewish Theatre
March 21, 2024

All My Sons was Arthur Miller’s first successful play on Broadway, and it has since become a classic of American theatre. I would even argue that it’s one of Miller’s best, even with his body of work including such classics as Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. With such a concentrated focus, as well as such a detailed attention to character and setting, this play presents a prime topic for thought and discussion. Also, as currently staged at New Jewish Theatre under the expert direction of Gary Wayne Barker, it provides a powerful showcase for a cast of superb local performers. 

The story would have been especially current at the time it was first performed in 1947, a little over two years after the end of the Second World War. In fact, it’s inspired by a true incident, although the particulars of the story and characters here are Miller’s invention. The story follows the Keller family in the American Midwest, as patriarch Joe (Greg Johnston), who runs a successful manufacturing plant, lives with his wife Kate (Amy Loui) and adult son Chris (Jayson Heil) in a well-appointed home. Joe’s company made a good profit manufacturing airplane parts during the war, and he intends Chris–an idealistic veteran–to take it over when he retires. Chris, in turn, looks up to his father as an ideal parent, even though Joe has spent time in prison for manufacturing faulty engine parts that caused the crash of 21 fighter planes during the war, although he was officially exonerated and released, and is apparently admired and respected by his neighbors, while his former partner, who was found guilty, remains in prison. 

Chris has recently invited the partner’s daughter, Ann (Kristen Joy Lintvedt)–who grew up nearby but now lives in New York–to stay after they have corresponded for the past two years, and Chris plans to propose, hoping his parents will accept his decision since Ann was previously engaged to Chris’s brother Larry, who was reported Missing in Action during the war, and Kate keeps insisting that he’s still alive and will return someday. As Chris plans to break the news to his mother, Ann’s brother George (Joel Moses) suddenly calls and announces that he’s arriving soon to see Ann with news that threatens to disrupt not only Chris and Ann’s plans, but the peace of the entire family and surrounding neighborhood. Meanwhile, we also get to meet other neighbors in the Kellers’ sphere of influence, including Dr. Jim Bayliss (Joshua Mayfield)–who would rather be doing research but keeps his practice to support his family–and his wife Sue (Zahria Moore), who resents the idealistic Chris’s influence on her husband. There’s also Lydia (Summer Baer), who used to date George but now is married to astrology enthusiast Frank (Riley Capp). 

All these plots are woven together expertly, as Miller’s critique of post-war materialism and the “American Dream” is blended with an urgent moral dilemma to paint a thorough portrait of a family facing a crisis that profoundly affects them personally, as well as their neighbors and the world around them. It’s a brilliant work of drama, and as staged at NJT under Barker’s thoughtful direction, it’s a gripping, challenging, and heartrending tale of intense personal drama with tragic implications. Everything from the symbolism of Larry’s memorial tree being knocked down in a storm just before the action begins, to the building sense of tension as George’s arrival approaches, to the emotionally volatile final scenes, is measured with just the right level of resonance and energy, with profound dramatic effect.

The cast is stellar, with Johnston giving the best performance I’ve seen from him as the proud, initially confident Joe, whose relationships with his family and community are challenged, along with his own world view and sense of worth. Loui also gives a stunning portrayal of the insistently devoted Kate, who refuses to let go of hope for her elder son. Heil is also a force of moral and dramatic strength as Chris, and his scenes with both of his parents, as well as with Lintvedt’s earnest Ann, are highlights. There are also impressive turns from Moses as the insistent George, Mayfield and Moore as the conflicted Jim and Sue; Baer and Capp as the upbeat neighbors Lydia and Frank; and also young Shane Rose as Bert, a local boy who is part of a group of local kids that look up to Joe as a mentor of sorts. 

Technically, the production makes the most of the relatively small space that NJT has to work with, with an impressively detailed set by C. Otis Sweezey that strikes just the right authentic Mid-Century small-town vibe, along with the excellent costumes by Michele Friedman Siler that capture the era with commendable flair. There’s also excellent work from lighting designer Denisse Chavez and sound designer Amanda Werre, with some especially striking special effects in a storm sequence as the play begins. 

All My Sons is a theatrical classic for good reason. It’s message is at once tied to its era and transcendently timeless. It’s one of those plays that speaks to the human experience in such a deep way that it’s bound to provoke much thought and conversation, as well as spawning revivals for many years to come. At New Jewish Theatre, this work has been staged with due excellence. It’s a stunning, intense, and challenging work of theatre.

The New Jewish Theatre is presenting All My Sons at the J’s Wool Studio Theatre until April 7, 2024