Galaxy Series presents Arthur Miller's 'All My Sons'

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CHADRON – “All My Sons,” the 1947 play about conflicting loyalties and the aftermath of war that was the first big success for famous American playwright Arthur Miller, takes the stage at 黑料大事记 State College’s Memorial Hall at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10.

The Montana Repertory Theater production showcases Miller鈥檚 gifts 鈥渁s a powerful storyteller with keen insights into the struggles of everyday men and women,鈥 according to director Jere Lee Hodgin.

鈥淭he power of Miller鈥檚 story about war鈥檚 consequences for both veterans and civilians is as relevant today as when the play premiered in 1947,鈥 Hodgin said.

Set just after World War II, 鈥淎ll My Sons鈥 tells the story of Joe Keller, played by Mike Boland, a dynamic small-town businessman whose factory made aircraft parts during the war and his family as they uncover the dark truth of a scandal involving faulty motor parts supplied to military.

Joe鈥檚 business partner, Steve Deever is in prison for supplying defective cylinder heads that resulted in the deaths of 21 pilots, but some neighbors of the men question Joe鈥檚 role in the transaction.

Keller, his wife, Kate (Laurie Dawn), and son Chris (Colton Swibold), are at odds about Kate鈥檚 refusal to accept that their other son, Larry, a military pilot who was lost in the war, is dead. Joe and Kate are also upset that Chris intends to propose to Larry鈥檚 high school sweetheart, Steve鈥檚 daughter, Ann (Meg Kiley Smith).

鈥溾楢ll My Sons鈥 is truly a modern tragedy,鈥 said CSC theater professor Roger Mays, who directed a student production of the play a few years ago.

Along with 鈥淒eath of a Salesman鈥 and 鈥淭he Crucible,鈥 it incorporates Miller鈥檚 idea that a tragedy for modern audiences must be about a common man to whom people could relate, said Mays. 鈥淲riting a modern tragedy with a hero like ourselves was an idea that (Miller) pioneered,鈥 he said.

Tragedy always involves a 鈥渢otal questioning of what has previously been unquestioned,鈥 Miller wrote in a famous 1949 essay. 鈥淪uch a process is not beyond the common man. In revolutions around the world, these past thirty years, he has demonstrated again and again this inner dynamic of all tragedy.鈥

鈥淎ll My Sons,鈥 like Miller鈥檚 other famous plays, has been adapted for movies and television. A 1948 film version featured Edward G. Robinson and Burt Lancaster. Mays praised a 1987 adaptation that appeared on the PBS American Playhouse series and starred James Whitmore, Aidan Quinn and Joan Allen.

The Montana Repertory Theater touring company, based at the University of Montana in Missoula, has been presenting professional theater productions across the country since 1968. The cast of 鈥淎ll My Sons鈥 includes actors who have performed on Broadway and in national television productions, as well as students and graduates from the university鈥檚 theater department.

Tickets and reservations for 鈥淎ll My Sons鈥 are available by calling the CSC Box Office, 308-432-6207, or by email to boxoffice@csc.edu. Box office hours are weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

鈥淎ll My Sons鈥 is the fourth event in CSC鈥檚 Galaxy Series for 2015-16. The series concludes with a March 24 performance by award winning vocalist Kathy Kosins.

-George Ledbetter

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