NEW YORK — It's been a long time coming, but change has finally arrived on Broadway, where for the first time Willy Loman and his family are played by Black actors.
This historic production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," which opened Sunday at the Hudson Theatre, ultimately registers the full seismic shock of this modern American classic. But it takes a while for the tremors to be felt in a staging that sacrifices precision for fluidity.
The revival, which originated at London's Young Vic theater, often gets in the way of itself with arty maneuvers that distract from the work's emotional core. And the casting of Black and white actors in a noncolorblind manner inevitably raises questions about race and history that are left stubbornly unanswered by the play.
