The Man Who Had All the Luck
Encyclopedia
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
.
David Beeves is a young Midwestern
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
mechanic
Mechanic
A mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
who discovers he is blessed with what appears to be almost supernatural
Supernatural
The supernatural or is that which is not subject to the laws of nature, or more figuratively, that which is said to exist above and beyond nature...
good fortune that allows him to overcome every seemingly insurmountable obstacle that crosses his path while those around him fall in defeat. Like Midas
Midas
For the legend of Gordias, a person who was taken by the people and made King, in obedience to the command of the oracle, see Gordias.Midas or King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This was called the Golden touch, or the...
, everything he touches is tinged with gold, leaving him to wonder if and when his luck will change and he too will be forced to deal with life's tragedies, until he eventually realizes that his good heart, hard work, and quick thought have been responsible for his success far more than luck.
Christopher Bigsby
Christopher Bigsby
Christopher Bigsby is a British literary analyst and novelist, with more than forty books to his credit. Earlier in his writing career, his books were published under the name C. W. E. Bigsby....
states that this is a study of human freedom. Beyond offering an account of a man's decline into madness, and eventual redemption, it explores the degree to which many of the characters become complicit in their own irrelevance, the degree to which they collude in the idea of man as a victim, as a subject of cosmic ironies."
Although written in 1940, the play did not reach New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
until four years later, Miller's first to be mounted on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. Directed by Joseph Fields
Joseph Fields
Joseph Albert Fields was an American playwright, theatre director, screenwriter, and film producer.-Life and career:Fields was born in New York City, the son of vaudevillean Lew Fields...
, it opened on November 23, 1944 at the Forrest Theatre
Eugene O'Neill Theatre
The Eugene O'Neill Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 230 West 49th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, it was built for the Shuberts as part of a theatre-hotel complex named for 19th century tragedian Edwin Forrest...
, where it ran for only 4 performances. Karl Swenson
Karl Swenson
Karl Swenson was an American theatre, radio, film, and television actor.-Biography:Born in Brooklyn, New York of Swedish parentage, Swenson made several appearances with Pierre-Luc Michaud on Broadway in the 1930s and 40s, including the title role in Arthur Miller's first production, The Man Who...
starred as David Beeves.
The play's failure nearly derailed Miller's career, and it remained one of his least known works until 1990, when the Bristol Old Vic
Bristol Old Vic
The Bristol Old Vic is a theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, King Street, in Bristol, England. The theatre complex includes the 1766 Theatre Royal, which claims to be the oldest continually-operating theatre in England, along with a 1970s studio theatre , offices and backstage facilities...
staged The Man Who Had All The Luck with Iain Glen
Iain Glen
Iain Glen is a Scottish film and stage actor.Iain Glen was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and trained at RADA where he won the Bancroft Gold Medal. He was married to Susannah Harker from 1993 to 2004; they have one son, Finlay...
in the lead role. The production was directed by Paul Unwin
Paul Unwin (film director)
Paul Unwin is a film, theatre, TV writer / director.As a theatre director his work includes The Man Who Had All the Luck by Arthur Miller at the Bristol Old Vic and the Young Vic, The Misanthrope at the Bristol Old Vic and the Royal National Theatre, Hamlet, Othello, In Times Like These by Jeremy...
. It later transferred to the Young Vic in London. In 2000 director Dan Fields mounted a production that ran for seven weeks at the Ivy Substation Theater in Culver City, California
Culver City, California
Culver City is a city in western Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 38,883, up from 38,816 at the 2000 census. It is mostly surrounded by the city of Los Angeles, but also shares a border with unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Culver...
. The following year, a production was staged by the Williamstown
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,754 at the 2010 census...
Theatre Festival, which had presented the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
premiere of Miller's The Ride Down Mt. Morgan
The Ride Down Mt. Morgan
The Ride Down Mt. Morgan is a play by Arthur Miller.The play's central character is Lyman Felt, an insurance agent and bigamist who maintains families in New York City and Elmira in upstate New York...
.
After fifteen previews, a Broadway revival directed by Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis is an American stage director and television director.-Biography:Ellis has directed numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway productions, including the New York City Opera Company revivals at the New York State Theatre: A Little Night Music and 110 in the Shade up to his current show, the...
opened on May 1, 2002 at the American Airlines Theatre
American Airlines Theatre
The American Airlines Theatre is a Broadway theatre, located at 227 West 42nd Street, New York City.-Design:Originally named the Selwyn Theatre, it was constructed by the Selwyn brothers, Edgar and Archie, in 1918. It was one of three theatres they built and controlled on 42nd Street, along with...
, where it ran for 62 performances. The cast included Chris O'Donnell
Chris O'Donnell
Christopher Eugene "Chris" O'Donnell is an American actor. He has played Robin in two Batman films, Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, Charlie Simms in Scent of a Woman, Finn Dandridge in Grey's Anatomy, Peter Garrett in Vertical Limit, and more recently, Jack McAuliffe in The Company. O'Donnell...
as David Beeves, with Samantha Mathis
Samantha Mathis
Samantha Mathis is an American actress. The daughter of actress Bibi Besch, Mathis made her film debut in Pump Up the Volume , opposite Christian Slater...
, Mason Adams
Mason Adams
Mason Adams was an American character actor and voice-over artist.-Early life:Adams was born in Brooklyn, New York. He earned an MA degree from the University of Michigan in Theatre Arts and Speech and also attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison, studying theater arts...
, James Rebhorn
James Rebhorn
James Robert Rebhorn is an American character actor who has appeared in over 100 television shows, feature films and plays.-Personal life:...
, Richard Riehle
Richard Riehle
-Life and career:Riehle was born in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, the son of Mary Margaret , a nurse, and Herbert John Riehle , an assistant postmaster. He attended the University of Notre Dame....
, David Wohl
David Wohl (actor)
David Wohl is an American theater, television and film actor. He is a long time character actor with over 71 credits on television and film alone.-Selected filmography:*Terms of Endearment as Phil...
, and Sam Robards
Sam Robards
Sam Prideaux Robards is an American actor.-Life and career:Robards was born in New York City, the son of actors Jason Robards and Lauren Bacall. He began his acting career in 1980 in an off-Broadway production of Album, and made his feature film debut in director Paul Mazursky's 1982 film Tempest....
, whose performance garnered him Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
and Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
nominations for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
In 2006, it was announced Ellis was directing a feature film adaptation of the play.
The play was revived at the Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...
, London, in March 2008 in a production by Sean Holmes
Sean Holmes
Sean Holmes is a British theatre director and, from spring 2009, artistic director of London’s Lyric Hammersmith.-Early career:Sean Holmes took a masters degree at King's College, London and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in text and performance...
.
External links
- Internet Broadway Database listing
- 2002 New York Times review
- Ivy Substation Theater & Media Park in Culver City, CA
.