All My Sons at For the Whim Productions
by Stephen T. Kreal
On Saturday afternoon, November 6th, I went to see Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” at a quaint venue called Hopeloft in Bridgeton NJ. The weekend of performances was produced by For the Whim Productions. The play was directed by April Johnson, in her directorial debut.
“All My Sons” opened on Broadway (Coronet Theater) on January 29th, 1947 and ran for 328 performances. It won two Tony Awards (Best Author and Best Direction of Play), and The New York Drama Critics Circle Award. “All My Sons” is based on real events surrounding an airplane parts contractor in Ohio, who knowingly shipped out defective airplane parts leading to the deaths of multiple pilots. The action of the play takes place in 1946.
The simple set is the back yard and porch of the Keller family in Ohio. The set was dressed with wrought-iron (period appropriate) lawn furniture and surrounded by a fence. The wooden screen back door of the house closed with an authentic bang when an actor would go inside, providing an authentic touch. The understated simplicity of the set kept the focus on the story. The set design and construction was by the multitalented Brian Danner (who also played the role of Chris Keller). The lighting design, which can be described as subdued and soft, was designed by the (also) multitalented John Krug, who played Joe Keller. I suspect the minimal lighting design was to focus the attention on the action and dialogue of the cast. The sound design was by Heidi Dugan, and featured just a few sound effects, including the dramatic, climactic gunshot. The costuming was period-accurate, especially the hair and dresses of the ladies. It is obvious that care and attention went into this aspect of the production. The men’s button-down, short sleeve dress-shirts and slacks looked period-appropriate as well. The only visible anachronism was a modern wristwatch.
The Keller family consists of husband Joe, his wife Kate, and their 32-year-old surviving WW2 veteran son Chris, who is set to take over the family’s airplane parts manufacturing company. Act One opens on a Sunday morning and the Keller family welcomes a guest, a young lady named Ann Deever, who was the sweetheart of their son Larry, who was reported as missing during the war, and is presumed dead by the family, EXCEPT for mother/wife Kate Keller (played by the highly talented Bobbi J. Kukal). Kate refuses to accept even the possibility that her son is dead, clinging to faint hopes and occasional news stories of long-missing soldiers reunited with families. Her husband Joe will not confront her on this, opting instead to be light-hearted and affable, joking around with the next-door neighbor doctor and a local neighborhood boy who acts as the neighborhood policeman, encouraged by Joe. We are then introduced to a young married neighbor couple: Frank and Lydia Lubey (played by Jai Surles and Arielle Egan). These characters provide some background and establish the Kellers as part of the community. We are also introduced to their next-door neighbors, Dr. Jim Bayless and his wife Sue. Sue Bayless is a colorful character (played by Silvia Darpino ) and provides some much-needed levity in a serious play. The cheerful doctor, played by Jim Ludovici, is unsatisfied with his life as a doctor, longing for a career as a medical researcher, much to the chagrin of his wife.
The conflict in Act One centers around the fact that the Kellers’ living son, Chris (played brilliantly by Brian Danner), also a war veteran, has fallen in love with Ann. Chris has coaxed Ann into visiting Ohio from New York City, to propose marriage. This is something he knows will greatly upset his mother, and possibly his father. This is because Ann was Larry’s sweetheart. Ann is played by Brinah Iglesias, whose mannerisms and vocal inflections conveyed the awkwardness and inherent tension of the situation. It is also in Act 1 where we learn the basic story about the defective airplane parts, and establish that Joe was not at the plant on the day they were shipped out, thus avoiding legal responsibility. While Joe enjoys his success, his business partner languishes for years in prison.
The action picks up significantly in Act 2. It is here that we are introduced to the character of George Deever, the son of the imprisoned, disgraced business partner of Joe Keller (and Ann’s brother). George Deever is played by Matthew Dugan, who does an amazing job at conveying the simmering anger and resentment at Joe. George arrives at the Keller household directly from visiting his father in prison. His arrival is very stressful to Joe. George wastes no time trying to convince Ann, his sister, that Joe is the enemy, and that HE (Joe) was responsible for the defective parts being shipped out. He deftly and cleverly points out inconsistencies in Joe’s story. Matthew Dugan’s portrayal of George was positively brilliant! He harshly chastises Joe to his face, leveling the accusation in plain words directly to Joe, who he blames for everything. The vehemence and intensity were palpable. I cannot overstate how theatrically impressive this scene was. Bravo, Mr. Dugan! This also highlighted the stage chemistry among and between the cast members. In conversations and arguments, lines were delivered smoothly. The dialogue flowed nicely and had an authentic feel to it. There was one brief moment in act two that had an unnatural pause in dialogue as sometimes happens in live theater performances, but it did not take away from the overall excellence of this play.
As if the action couldn’t get more intense, Kate Keller and Ann Deever have a heated conversation about Larry’s status and the impending marriage (which is eventually revealed to Kate). This is where we get to see Bobbi J. Kukal and Brinah Iglesias really shine. The two go back and forth in an intense scene, really highlighting the acting skills of both actresses, and leaving the audience in awe. All the while, Joe Keller is slowly falling apart, as more and more secrets are revealed. His facade becomes cracked and worn. We see him gradually go from carefree “bon vivant”, to defending himself and justifying his criminal actions. Actor John Krug gives a subtle, nuanced performance, which slowly builds up in intensity throughout the play.
Since the script is over 70 years old, I will tell you that in the climactic scene, Ann produces a letter sent to her by Larry, in which he states that he saw newspaper stories detailing the defective parts case. He is so wracked with shame and guilt that he tells her he is “going to be reported as missing”. After being confronted with the stark truth, Kate breaks down, and Joe goes inside the house. Moments later, we hear a gunshot sound effect, as Joe has taken his own life.
“All My Sons” only ran this past weekend. I am very glad that I was able to see a performance. If you have an opportunity to see a production of it, I only hope that it is as good as this one was. Congratulations to the cast, crew, director and “For the Whim” Productions on an outstanding run of performances. Be sure you to look out for future productions with this company at https://www.ftwproductions.com/
