Montana Rep’s Touring Production of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” Comes to the MAC

The Montana Repertory Theatre production of Arthur Miller’s classic, “All My Sons” comes to the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage, Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. “Told against the single setting of an ordinary American backyard, it is a pitiless analysis of character that gathers momentum all evening and concludes with both logic and dramatic impact” (New York Times). This award-winning drama helped launch the successful and critically acclaimed career of one of America’s greatest 20th-century playwrights.
Based upon a true story, “All My Sons” dramatizes a 24-hour series of events which Joe Keller, the owner of a small manufacturing business, is forced to accept his guilt for selling defective airplane engine parts to the U.S. Air Force during World War II, as well as the subsequent effects this has on his family. A uniquely American play, “All My Sons” established Miller as a powerful storyteller with keen insight into the struggles of everyday men and women. The power of Miller’s story explaining war’s consequences for both veterans and civilians—including honor, sacrifice, guilt, honesty, hope and love—is as relevant today as when the play premiered.

“All My Sons” opened on Broadway in January 1947 and ran for 328 performances. It was directed by Elia Kazan (to whom it is dedicated), and won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award. “All My Sons” was adapted for film in 1948, starred Edward G. Robinson as Joe Keller. The 1987 Broadway revival won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. More recently, another Broadway revival was mounted in 2008 starred Tony Award winner John Lithgow, Academy Award winner Dianne Wiest, and Katie Holmes, in her Broadway debut.

Arthur Miller (1915-2005) is universally regarded as one of the 20^th Century’s greatest playwrights, having authored such classes as “Death of a Salesman,” “The Crucible” and “A View from the Bridge,” and having been honored with numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize, and several Tony Awards. Miller spent the majority of his teenage years working around the city in order to save for a college education.  In 1938 he graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor’s degree in English.  Miller’s passion for playwriting also came with much disappointment.  After several failed plays, Miller said that “All My Sons” was his final play, and if it was not successful he was going to focus his energies on journalism.  “All My Sons” was a hit, and Miller went on to write more than two dozen more plays between 1959 and 2004 including “Death of A Salesman,” “The Crucible,” “A View from the Bridge.”

The cast for “All My Sons” includes Mike Boland (Joe Keller), who has been seen on Broadway in “An Enemy of People,” he has also been in several Broadway National Tours; Laurie Dawn (Kate Keller) has worked on several television shows, such as “Law and Order: SVU” and Meg Kiley Smith (Ann Deever), a founding member and education director of MaineStage Shakespeare.  Other cast members include: Elizabeth Bennett as Lydia Lubey; Scoob Decker as Dr. Jim Bayliss; Ryan Luwe as Bert; Sue Bayliss as Cahilan Shine; Colton Swibold as Chris Keller; Mason Wagner as George Deever; and Sam Williamson as Frank Lubey.

The creative team for “All My Sons” includes Jere Lee Hodgin (director), Michael Fink (scenic design), Chris Milodragovic (costume design), Mike Monsos (lighting design) and Zach Hamersley (audio design). Stage managers are Hope Rose Kelly and Heidi Mudd.

This presentation is supported by the Arts Midwest Touring Fund, a program of Arts Midwest that is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional contributions from Illinois Arts Council, the Crane Group and General Mills Foundation.

About Montana Repertory Theatre

Now one of the most dynamic and respected touring companies in the country, Montana Repertory Theatre under the artistic direction of Greg Johnson was established as a professional touring company in 1967, with the mission is to tell the great stories of our world to enlighten, develop, and celebrate the human spirit in an ever-expanding community.

Montana Repertory Theatre assembles principle actors, directors, and designers with prestigious credits, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, national tours of Broadway shows, and major regional theatre credits. Beginning in 1992, the Montana Rep inaugurated an expanded residency program, perfect for high school assemblies and classrooms, for which study guides are provided. Residency activities are also supplemented by standard professional theatre workshops.

The 1997 and 1998 tours marked the Rep’s first full-fledged national tours with “To Kill a Mockingbird,” traveling from California to New York. Educational Outreach Tour serves more than 50 rural communities across Montana, presenting plays based on American and world literature.

Tickets

The Montana Rep production of Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” comes to the McAninch Arts Center, located at 425 Fawell Blvd. on the campus of College of DuPage, Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35-$45. For tickets or more information call the MAC Box Office at 630.942.4000, or visit AtTheMAC.org. Please note: these performances contain mature language.

About the MAC

McAninch Arts Center (MAC) at College of DuPage is located 25 miles west of Chicago near I-88 and I-355, and houses three performance spaces (the 780-seat proscenium Belushi Performance Hall; the 186-seat soft-thrust Playhouse Theatre; and the versatile black box Studio Theatre), plus the Cleve Carney Art Gallery, classrooms for the college’s academic programming and the Lakeside Pavilion. The MAC has presented theater, music, dance and visual art to more than 1.5 million people since its opening in 1986 and typically welcomes more than 75,000 patrons from the greater Chicago area to more than 230 performances each season.

The mission of the MAC is to foster enlightened educational and performance opportunities, which encourage artistic expression, establish a lasting relationship between people and art, and enrich the cultural vitality of the community. For more information about the MAC, visit AtTheMAC.org, facebook.com/AtTheMAC or twitter.com/AtTheMAC.

The MAC’s 2015-2016 Season is made possible in part with support by Arts Midwest, BMO Harris Bank,The DuPage Foundation, Hilton of Lisle/Naperville, WDCB 90.9 FM and the College of DuPage Foundation.

Established as a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit charitable organization in 1967, the College of DuPage Foundation raises monetary and in-kind gifts to increase access to education and to enhance cultural opportunities for the surrounding community. For more information about the College of DuPage Foundation, visit foundation.cod.edu or call 630.942.2462.

Programs at the MAC are partially supported through a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.