Ti-Ahwaga actors tap into depth of ‘Death of a Salesman’ characters

Reviewd by George Basler

With Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller created one of the great dramas of the 20th century and one of the towering figures of American literature: Willy Loman, the doomed salesman of the title. So, I was more than a little worried while driving up Route 17 to Owego to watch the Ti-Ahwaga Community Players launch their season with a production of Miller’s classic play. The non-profit troupe can claim the title as the oldest, continually active community theater in upstate New York, but tackling Miller’s masterpiece is a daunting task for any non-professional, community theater. I dreaded the possibility of a very long evening.

The good news is that I didn’t need to worry. The Ti-Ahwaga actors, under the direction of James Osborne, turn in a solid and effective production that captures the emotion of  Miller’s great play about self-delusion, Oedipal confrontations between fathers and sons and what constitutes success, or failure, in American life. The production will run through Oct. 21.

‘Crucible’ passes trial at BU

Reviewed by Sarah Kuras

Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible came to life this past weekend at Binghamton University. The Watters Theater was packed for opening night (March 9) as the audience was transported back to Salem Village in 1692. As the eerie lights came on, women danced and sang in the woods near a fiery cauldron. This mystical scene set the stage for the rest of the play. Motives and characters were questioned as the townspeople became caught up in the Salem witch trials. With plot twists and turns and hidden motivations, one was never sure of a character’s true intentions.