{"id":2366334,"date":"2026-04-10T02:02:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T02:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2366334"},"modified":"2026-04-10T02:02:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T02:02:12","slug":"death-of-a-salesman-review-nathan-lane-and-laurie-metcalf-star-in-a-triumphant-broadway-revival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/death-of-a-salesman-review-nathan-lane-and-laurie-metcalf-star-in-a-triumphant-broadway-revival\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;Death of a Salesman&#8217; review: Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf star in a triumphant Broadway revival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F04%2Fnewspress-collage-11zcsaa02-1775768413549.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261775754127\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--review alignleft\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n\t\t<span class=\"inline-module--review__eyebrow subsection-heading-semi__label\"><br \/>\n\t\t\tTheater review\t\t<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"inline-module--review__title subsection-heading-semi\">\n\t\t\tDEATH OF A SALESMAN\t\t<\/h2>\n<div class=\"rating\">\n<div class=\"rating__stars\">\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rating__star rating__star--filled\"><?php \/**\n * Review star.\n * \n * @package nyp-editor\n *\/\n\n??><\/p>\n<style><![CDATA[\n\t.review-block-star {\n\t\t--review-block-star--empty-color: #585858;\n\t\t--review-block-star--fill-color: #000;\n\t}\n]]><\/style>\n<p><svg class=\"icon-star review-block-star\" stroke=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\" fill=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\" stroke-width=\"0\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" height=\"13px\" width=\"13px\">\n\t<defs>\n\t\t<lineargradient id=\"half-gradient\">\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"50%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--fill-color)\"\/>\n\t\t\t<stop stop-opacity=\"1\" offset=\"0%\" stop-color=\"var(--review-block-star--empty-color)\"\/>\n\t\t<\/lineargradient>\n\t<\/defs>\n\t<path d=\"M3.612 15.443c-.386.198-.824-.149-.746-.592l.83-4.73L.173 6.765c-.329-.314-.158-.888.283-.95l4.898-.696L7.538.792c.197-.39.73-.39.927 0l2.184 4.327 4.898.696c.441.062.612.636.283.95l-3.523 3.356.83 4.73c.078.443-.36.79-.746.592L8 13.187l-4.389 2.256z\">\n\t<\/path>\n<\/svg>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<p>2 hours and 50 minutes, with one intermission. At the Winter Garden Theatre, 1634 Broadway.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The vast stage of the Winter Garden Theatre is grimier than usual. The boards are covered in mounds of dirt and dust, and tiles have fallen off the pillars. Dingy and in disrepair, the dimly lit space looks like an abandoned garage that squatters might hide out in.<\/p>\n<p>The squalid room makes a quick first impression: This place, whatever it is, has certainly seen better days.<\/p>\n<p>Then, at the end of the superb and unforgettable revival that hauntingly unfolds there among its shadows, there arrives an altogether livelier takeaway: That was the best \u201cDeath of a Salesman\u201d I have ever seen.<\/p>\n<p>Who knew Willy\u2019s still got it? Seventy-seven years after Arthur Miller\u2019s drama of dashed hopes and stinging truths about American life debuted, the tale of a working stiff\u2019s downfall didn\u2019t seem to have much gas left in the tank. As recently as 2022, a sedate Broadway production starring Wendell Pierce provided plenty of tricks and no punch.<\/p>\n<p>Yet director Joe Mantello\u2019s pummeling revival, which opened Thursday night, accomplishes what this play at its most potent should. Yes, you leave raving about the sterling performances of Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf and the striking stagecraft. But, for more than a few people I overheard on the way out, it also powerfully summoned a tougher topic: their own lives.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Laurie Metcalf and Nathan Lane star in \u201cDeath of a Salesman\u201d on Broadway. <span class=\"credit\">Emilio Madrid<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter\">\n<div class=\"inline-module inline-module--more inline-module--columnist inline-module--more--thirds\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<h2 class=\"inline-module__heading subsection-heading subsection-heading--single-line \">\n\t\t\tMore From\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"subsection-heading__sub\">Johnny Oleksinski<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>That renewed vigor begins with Mantello, who is doing some of the finest work of his long and diverse career. His passion here is palpable and infectious.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSalesman\u201d is one of a number of titles for whom the designation \u201cAmerican classic\u201d is an albatross. Productions are frequently overacted with too much awareness of the play\u2019s historical significance. There\u2019ve been some wail-y Lomans over the years. And artificial, attention-seeking staging can easily get in the way of the characters\u2019 abundant humanity.<\/p>\n<p>Neither reverent nor irreverent, Mantello, his designers and actors approach the drama as a brand-new work. The simple costumes express personality but are not bound to the 1940s. The crumbling environs have a whiff of German opera to them. And instead of the ol\u2019 park and bark, the cast intensely mines energy from each other.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, Lane\u2019s self-generated electricity could power Times Square.<\/p>\n<p>Going in, I had my doubts about the Broadway vet as Willy, the traveling seller who can barely support his family as he lies to their faces about being a huge success. What does the comic genius of \u201cThe Producers\u201d have in common with previous leads like Brian Dennehy or Philip Seymour Hoffman? Not a lot.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Like Willy Loman, Lane is a born showman. <span class=\"credit\">Emilio Madrid<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, he shares an important quality with Loman \u2014 Lane\u2019s a showman. Whether as Max Bialystock, Pseudolus, Roy Cohn or Hickey from \u201cThe Iceman Cometh,\u201d no one can more captivatingly spin a yarn. Add to that some years under his belt, and what you have is an especially sad and desperate Willy \u2014 a tap dancer who\u2019s running out of breath. He\u2019s also a movingly sensitive one. Lane can be genuinely scary at one moment and fold like a wool sweater the next.<\/p>\n<p>When Willy realizes that he\u2019s afraid of his 34-year-old son Biff (Christopher Abbott), 1,600 people all take a deep breath. \u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Laurie Metcalf makes Linda feel bigger and hit harder. <span class=\"credit\">Emilio Madrid<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Tending to her husband\u2019s fragile ego like a bonsai tree is Metcalf\u2019s heartbreaking and mistreated Linda. Perhaps unsurprisingly from one of our greatest stage actors, she makes stern Mrs. Loman feel bigger and hit harder long before she obliterates us with, \u201cI can\u2019t cry.\u201d Nobody embodies working class rage and malaise with as much guts or ferocity as Metcalf. Plus, she\u2019s never a pushover. It goes against her nature. Her Linda has real fight, and a\u00a0welcome\u00a0sense of humor.<\/p>\n<p>Maybe jokes help distract mom from her disappointment in her layabout kids Biff and Happy (Ben Ahlers). The modernity of this \u201cSalesman\u201d is most obvious in rebellious Abbott and Ahlers, who have both the last names and genuine camaraderie for a buddy act.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Christopher Abbott\u2019s Biff is the image of an unemployed 30-something. <span class=\"credit\">Emilio Madrid<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Abbott\u2019s Biff is not a Broadway-fied version of what a jobless 34-year-old looks like \u2014 he just\u00a0<em>is<\/em>\u00a0that. Could be that his old gig on HBO\u2019s \u201cGirls\u201d helped him learn the couchy ways of the perpetually unemployed. The\u00a0unpredictable\u00a0actor also has a scrappy pugilist\u2019s build that makes him physically imposing even though charm is Biff\u2019s best weapon, like dad.<\/p>\n<p>Adorable Ahlers innately understands the curse of his character\u2019s name. His Happy is destined to be the frivolous sideshow to his main-event big brother. The\u00a0\u201cGilded Age\u201d\u00a0actor leans into that\u00a0clownishness and puts on a\u00a0last-ditch\u00a0show to win his parents\u2019 love. Tragically, he loses. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Ben Ahlers plays hapless Happy. <span class=\"credit\">Emilio Madrid<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>That quartet\u00a0leads\u00a0an ensemble that\u2019s sublime from stem to stern. John Drea is the quintessential mean, young boss, while Jonathan Cake is devilishly enticing as Willy\u2019s fantasy image of his wealthy brother Ben.<\/p>\n<p>The first sight of this revival of \u201cDeath of a Salesman\u201d is piles of dust. By the time the curtain falls, the cast has not only blown all the dust off an aging play\u00a0\u2014 they\u2019ve\u00a0rendered\u00a0it more forceful than ever.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source celebrity.land \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Theater review DEATH OF A SALESMAN 2 hours and 50 minutes, with one intermission. At the Winter Garden Theatre, 1634 Broadway. The vast stage of the Winter Garden Theatre is grimier than usual. The boards are covered in mounds of dirt and dust, and tiles have fallen off the pillars. Dingy and in disrepair, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2366335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25174],"tags":[21741,333101,383963,24047,345886],"class_list":["post-2366334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gossip","tag-entertainment","tag-laurie-metcalf","tag-nathan-lane","tag-theater","tag-theater-reviews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Death-of-a-Salesman-review-Nathan-Lane-and-Laurie-Metcalf.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2366334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2366334"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2366334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2366336,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2366334\/revisions\/2366336"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2366335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2366334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2366334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2366334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}