This volume collects original essays and interviews on Arthur Miller, the greatest American playwright of the twentieth century, by a remarkable group of critics, scholars, and theater practitioners. The contributors consider the breadth of Miller's work, treating topics that include his early political writing for the student newspaper at the University of Michigan; his famous work with John Huston, Clark Gable, and Marilyn Monroe on The Misfits; traditional performances of signature plays like Death of a Salesman and All My Sons; and operatic renditions of Miller scripts, among many other subjects. Intimate conversations with the playwright reveal the ideas that define his art, including an interview in which he suggests for the first time that an audience must be made "to feel before it can be made to think." In reflecting the many dimensions of his work, this volume illustrates Arthur Miller's long-standing commitment to forging a uniquely American theater.
Photo by Martin Vloet, courtesy University of Michigan Photo Services.
"Essential. All collections; all levels. Complete with chapter endnotes and works cited, this is a volume every library should have in its collection."
—Choice
"Arthur Miller's America is an eclectic collection of essays on performance, theatre history, literary-cultural interpretation, pedagogy, and interviews with artists, most of which revolve around questions of historical specificity and boundary-crossing...This volume, too, reveals that the most familiar of American playrights continues to repaynew readings and to provide fresh insights."
—Theatre Journal
