While Biff has historically been the attention-grabbing part, De Shields seems to have upstaged the other featured performers. A beloved stage veteran and recent Tony winner for “Hadestown,” the showman has won over critics with his lively take on the small but utterly pivotal role of Willy’s deceased elder brother Ben. Fresh off of her Olivier victory and a strong bid for her first Tony last year for musical “ Caroline, or Change,” Clarke should secure her second consecutive Tony bid, too.įrom the featured cast, look out for a nomination for De Shields. For “Salesman,” Pierce returns to Broadway as an actor for the first time in over 30 years in a performance sure to net him his first Tony nomination as a performer he has one win from two nominations as a producer. So, too, will the show’s powerhouse lead performances. Assuming all five of these productions compete as revivals, the category will have no more than four slots, and it seems likely that “Salesman” will make the cut. This new interpretation of Miller’s popular drama kicks off a very strong slate of revivals, which includes August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” Suzan-Lori Parks’ “Topdog / Underdog,” plus potentially Adrienne Kennedy’s “Ohio State Murders” and Stephen Adly Guirgis’ “Between Riverside and Crazy,” depending on whether the latter two are deemed revivals under the classics rule. As others wrote, though, he comments that occasionally “Cromwell’s stylizations go a bit too hard, honestly.”Īt this early moment in the 2022-2023 season, “Death of a Salesman” looks like a strong Tony Awards contender. He applauds Pierce as “devastating” and Clark as “unshakable,” and offers kudos to Davis and Belcher III. Rob Weinert-Kendt ( Vulture) offers a similar take on the merits and shortcoming of this “Salesman.” Overall, he calls this mounting a “stunning” revival against which subsequent productions will be measured. SEE ‘Into the Woods’ revival is ‘radiant’ and ‘superb,’ but will it compete at the 2023 Tony Awards? As for the production showcasing a Black Loman family, he says that it is somewhat of a “missed opportunity to further explore for whom The American Dream was truly meant.” He lauds the “sensational” Pierce and Clarke, saying Pierce is “the beating pulse at the show’s center, delivering monologues with a rapid dexterity that erupts into chaotic confusion,” while “Clarke gives dignity and dimension to a character confined to the house.” Of the featured cast members, Brathwaite singles out the “perfectly cast” De Shields, but is less enamored with Davis’ performance as Biff. Lester Fabian Brathwaite ( Entertainment Weekly) give the production an A- grade, describing it as “vital” and featuring “kinetic direction” from Cromwell. Jesse Green ( New York Times) names this production a Critic’s Pick, calling it “notably rich” and “astonishing.” He heaps praise on the performers, calling Pierce “wrenching as he flails and fails to avoid his fate instead of slumping into it from the start,” Clarke “so paradoxically shattering,” and De Shields “terrifying” because he “makes every utterance sound like an elaborate curse.” Despite all this praise, Green does note that Cromwell’s direction sometimes feels “obvious and unmoored.” Most critics raved about this latest take on Miller’s most famous tragedy. SEE ‘Leopoldstadt’ reviews: New Tom Stoppard play is ‘remarkable,’ ‘harrowing’
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