Ivy's Place

I'm curious how Sumter audiences will receive the next Sumter Little Theatre production, Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman." It's a Pulitzer Prize winner and a classic, a word that a lot of people are really leery of -- unless it's followed by "musical" or "comedy" or both.
"Death of a Salesman" is a drama, a tragedy of almost Greek proportions. You know what's going to happen to the lead character, the salesman Willy Loman, from the title alone. How he gets there, well, that's the thing.
Miller's story and his portraits of the characters, especially Willy, are masterful.
Maybe that's why, as director Eric Bultman pointed out, "everybody who auditioned really wanted to do this play. They didn't care what part they got, they just wanted to do it."
Luckily for Eric -- and Sumter -- he got some of the cream of the town's acting crop. David Brown as Willy. It's undoubtedly the most challenging role David's played, but I have no doubt he'll nail it.
Dee Renko as his wife, Braden Bunch and Cristian Badiu as his sons; Mike Duffy, Buzz Cornell, fresh off his triumph as Tevye in "Fiddler on the Roof" ...
I went over to the theater today, mainly to get a feel for the set, as I imagined it would be difficult on SLT's small stage. It's not finished yet, but the skeleton was enough that Eric was able to walk me through it and show me where the different scenes are set.
He and the crew have made some modifications that will allow the lighting to set the mood in many scenes. The costumes, too, will play an important part, Eric said. That's one thing about SLT's productions: They can be appreciated for all their aspects -- acting, set, light and sound design, costumes, etc. -- and sometimes you're so drawn into the show you don't recognize the contributions of each. It's like being a kid again and either thinking it's real, or that the actors are making it up as they go along.
Eric just started in his position as SLT's executive director this summer, so he had no part in selecting the season, but he's excited about directing the Miller play.
He told me he's determined to find out exactly what "community theater" means, having just come from academia, earning his master's degree and teaching college students. Then he had to go off to teach his SLT Youth Theatre class.
I suspect we'll find his talents and those of the cast and crew more than up to the challenge of "Death of a Salesman." I, for one, wouldn't miss the chance to see what the combined gifts of those involved bring to our community theater. It's bound to be a gem.