Greed is Not Good in "All My Sons"

Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” is more than 60 years old, but it’s just as timely today as it’s ever been.

It’s a story of war profiteering, about a man who disregarded his morals to make money—and the son who knows of his father’s long-held secret. It’s nearly impossible to not see parallels to today’s world, not only in terms of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the greed that was prevalent in the stories of Bernie Madoff and the mortgage crisis.

The play, which is on stage at in Montville through Oct. 1, is set during World War II and is about the Keller family. Patriarch Joe is in his 60s. He and his wife Kate lost a son Larry in the war, something Kate hasn’t fully accepted. Their younger son, Chris (who has his own scars from his experience in the war) is courting Larry’s girlfriend, Annie. They want to get engaged but Kate won’t hear of it, believing it disrespectful to Larry, whom she thinks is still alive.

Joe owned a business with Annie’s father, and both were tried in court for selling faulty cylinders that led to the deaths of Air Force pilots. Joe was ruled not guilty while Annie’s father went to jail. Annie’s brother, George, believes an injustice has been done and is determined to reveal the truth.

Mark Phelan is directing “All My Sons,” marking his third directorial stint at the Montville theater. He performed there as a child in the 1970s, and went on to college and a professional theater career before returning home a few years ago. Although he’s directed comedies and musicals at other venues, he appears to specialize in mid-20th century American classics at the Barn, having previously helmed William Inge’s “Bus Stop” and Tennessee Williams “The Glass Menagerie” there.

“These are plays that as time goes on, people are starting to forget but I think this play, ‘All My Sons,’ is very timely right now, in regards to war profiteering and, as I say in my program notes, a solely economical interpretation of the American Dream,” he said.

Phelan directed “All My Sons” at Circle Players in Piscataway in 2006. One thing that he said strikes him about the play is Miller’s language.

"Tennessee Williams tends to write very poetically," he said. "With Arthur Miller, I can see where he’s probably sweating over every word and every phrase and every word choice. Almost every sentence has a double meaning or relates to the rest of the play. You can’t take it out or change it or say, ‘Well, we’ll update that.’ It’s a perfect three-act play (though he added the Barn’s staging is two acts because the third is very short).

In returning to the play, Phalen said he wants to start fresh, and there will be some differences between this and his prior version, particularly in staging. Circle Players is theater in the round, while the Barn is a proscenium space. So, he said, the “stage pictures” will be different. The director is reuniting with one cast member from the Piscataway production, Paul Bettys, who reprise his role of Chris.

“I told him, don’t tamper with success,” he said. “I like what you did but if you want to improve or embellish, do it within that interpretation of the character you had five years ago.” The rest of the cast features Thomas Hodge as Joe Keller, Diane Gilch as Kate, Sky Spiegel as Annie and Robert Mackasek as George.

Phelan said plays like “All My Sons” challenge audiences but offer great rewards. In this age of short clips on the Internet and television laugh tracks, a play like this allows people to take in a story and think about what they’re seeing. He also said he thinks “All My Sons” will always have a following, just as there will always be people committed to performing, and seeing, Shakespeare.

“I think it’s the same way with these kinds of plays,” he said. “People will always look for them and say, ‘He got it. Miller got it right.’”

It’s common for directors to talk about how close their cast is, but Phelan said this group really bonded and dealt with hurdles, from summer vacations to hurricanes. That bonding, he said, will help relate the closeness of the Keller family that’s show in the first act.

“This play has sections of great warmth and great family happiness that this cast is able to convey,” he said. “On the first 20 minutes you might think, 'Am I seeing ‘Life With Father’ or ‘Picnic’ or am I seeing ‘All My Sons?’' And that makes it all the more tragic when it turns out terribly dark at the end. This is a family that did have it all and it became back to revisit them, it’s about the sins of the father.”

“All My Sons” is at the Barn Theatre, located at 32 Skyline Drive in Montville, through Oct. 1. For information, go to BarnTheatre.org.