THE PLAY
THE STORY
On the banks of the East River in the loom of the New York skyline, Italian-American Eddie Carbone and his fellow longshoreman scrape and hassle for work unloading cargo ships in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge. Since his niece Catharine was orphaned as a child, Eddie and his wife Beatrice have raised her as their daughter the poverty-struck Saxon Street in the years following WWII.
In the summer of Catharine's seventeenth birthday, the family agrees to house Beatrice's two cousins from Italy as illegal immigrants - as they dream of being able to support their loved ones back home. Their new living arrangement, however, quickly turns grim when Eddie disapproves of the blonde Italian boy Catharine becomes infatuated with, and willing to sacrifice everything for.
Arthur Miller weaves a brutally terrifying and breathtaking story about jealousy, honour, ethics in law, family, sex, paranoia, and ultimately, the price we pay for our actions. The audience will see the tragic events of Eddie Carbone unfold before their eyes, all told by the recount of a tired lawyer who witnessed it. And so the question posed becomes: Who is guilty for the horrors we can't prevent?
On the banks of the East River in the loom of the New York skyline, Italian-American Eddie Carbone and his fellow longshoreman scrape and hassle for work unloading cargo ships in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge. Since his niece Catharine was orphaned as a child, Eddie and his wife Beatrice have raised her as their daughter the poverty-struck Saxon Street in the years following WWII.
In the summer of Catharine's seventeenth birthday, the family agrees to house Beatrice's two cousins from Italy as illegal immigrants - as they dream of being able to support their loved ones back home. Their new living arrangement, however, quickly turns grim when Eddie disapproves of the blonde Italian boy Catharine becomes infatuated with, and willing to sacrifice everything for.
Arthur Miller weaves a brutally terrifying and breathtaking story about jealousy, honour, ethics in law, family, sex, paranoia, and ultimately, the price we pay for our actions. The audience will see the tragic events of Eddie Carbone unfold before their eyes, all told by the recount of a tired lawyer who witnessed it. And so the question posed becomes: Who is guilty for the horrors we can't prevent?
HISTORY
The first version of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge opened at the Coronet Theatre (now the Eugene O'Neil Theatre) in New York City on September 29th, 1955. It was originally a one-act verse drama, and was presented with another play entitled A Memory of Two Mondays, also by Miller. The production received mixed reviews, and closed within several weeks.
Miller then spent the better part of 1956 revising the play at his home in Connecticut with his then-wife Marilyn Monroe. He changed the verse to become more stylistically aligned with his previous American works, like that of his more successful Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. He also expanded the story, added two new characters, and lengthened the play to a full, two act presentation. (Despite the new additions, however, it is still the shortest of his plays from the 1950's, and shortest of the three titles comprising his Triptych of American Tragedies. The other titles in this include the aforementioned Salesman and Crucible).
The revised version premiered in London's West End at the New Watergate Theatre Club (now Harold Pinter's Theatre) on October 11th, 1956 under the direction of Peter Brook. The production starred Anthony Quayle as Eddie Carbone, in his professional acting debut. The production was met with far more enthusiastic reviews, and this version of the script is what modern audiences are most familiar with today.
The first New York revival was Off-Broadway in 1965 at the Sheridan Square Playhouse, where Dustin Hoffman was both the stage manager and assistant director. Despite Miller's hesitation at Hoffman's talent, this meeting would lead to Hoffman's wildly acclaimed casting as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman some years later. Three Broadway revivals would follow this: The first in February 1983 starring Tony Lo Bianco, the next in 1998 starring Anthony LaPaglia (winning the Tony Award for Best Actor), and most recently at the Cort Theatre in Spring 2010 starring Liev Schrieber as Eddie, and Scarlett Johannson as Catharine in her Broadway debut. (In June she was awarded with Best Supporting Actress for the part).
The most recent production was staged at the Young Vic repertory theatre outside London between February and June 2014, in a thrilling new style and production that starred Mark Strong as Eddie Carbone, and directed by Dutchman Ivo van Hove in his English-speaking premiere. It was met with starring reviews, many calling it the greatest incarnation of the play ver conceived. In February 2015, it transferred to Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End, where it won four Olivier Awards, including Best Revival of a Play, Best Actor, and Best Director. The run was extended three times and sold out nearly every night.
This production was broadcast worldwide by the National Theatre on March 27th, 2015, in its second largest broadcast in the company's history. Now, in the several weeks following the closure in London, Knockout Theatre Company presents its own reincarnation of the sellout London production inspired by Ivo van Hove's brilliant staging, re-invisioned for amateur Canada by India Minhas-Calabrese, marking the 60th anniversary of when the play first shocked, thrilled, and entertained audiences on Broadway.
The first version of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge opened at the Coronet Theatre (now the Eugene O'Neil Theatre) in New York City on September 29th, 1955. It was originally a one-act verse drama, and was presented with another play entitled A Memory of Two Mondays, also by Miller. The production received mixed reviews, and closed within several weeks.
Miller then spent the better part of 1956 revising the play at his home in Connecticut with his then-wife Marilyn Monroe. He changed the verse to become more stylistically aligned with his previous American works, like that of his more successful Death of a Salesman and The Crucible. He also expanded the story, added two new characters, and lengthened the play to a full, two act presentation. (Despite the new additions, however, it is still the shortest of his plays from the 1950's, and shortest of the three titles comprising his Triptych of American Tragedies. The other titles in this include the aforementioned Salesman and Crucible).
The revised version premiered in London's West End at the New Watergate Theatre Club (now Harold Pinter's Theatre) on October 11th, 1956 under the direction of Peter Brook. The production starred Anthony Quayle as Eddie Carbone, in his professional acting debut. The production was met with far more enthusiastic reviews, and this version of the script is what modern audiences are most familiar with today.
The first New York revival was Off-Broadway in 1965 at the Sheridan Square Playhouse, where Dustin Hoffman was both the stage manager and assistant director. Despite Miller's hesitation at Hoffman's talent, this meeting would lead to Hoffman's wildly acclaimed casting as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman some years later. Three Broadway revivals would follow this: The first in February 1983 starring Tony Lo Bianco, the next in 1998 starring Anthony LaPaglia (winning the Tony Award for Best Actor), and most recently at the Cort Theatre in Spring 2010 starring Liev Schrieber as Eddie, and Scarlett Johannson as Catharine in her Broadway debut. (In June she was awarded with Best Supporting Actress for the part).
The most recent production was staged at the Young Vic repertory theatre outside London between February and June 2014, in a thrilling new style and production that starred Mark Strong as Eddie Carbone, and directed by Dutchman Ivo van Hove in his English-speaking premiere. It was met with starring reviews, many calling it the greatest incarnation of the play ver conceived. In February 2015, it transferred to Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End, where it won four Olivier Awards, including Best Revival of a Play, Best Actor, and Best Director. The run was extended three times and sold out nearly every night.
This production was broadcast worldwide by the National Theatre on March 27th, 2015, in its second largest broadcast in the company's history. Now, in the several weeks following the closure in London, Knockout Theatre Company presents its own reincarnation of the sellout London production inspired by Ivo van Hove's brilliant staging, re-invisioned for amateur Canada by India Minhas-Calabrese, marking the 60th anniversary of when the play first shocked, thrilled, and entertained audiences on Broadway.