Death of a Salesman (Yiddish Rep) NYC Reviews and Tickets

"It’s frustrating that design gets in the way of this production. Mr. Yassur stages much of the play with straightforward simplicity... But when Willy’s mind grows muddled, and when he flashes back, up come the creepy lights and the eerie music. These jarring distractions arguably have roots in Miller’s stage directions, but here they read as misguided modernism, confusing the action rather than clarifying it. Ultimately, they become a fatal flaw."
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"New Yiddish Rep’s 'Death of a Salesman' adds a new dimension to this well-known tragedy. With the English language supertitles it becomes accessible to a non-Yiddish speaking audience. The use of Yiddish gives the play an intimacy that it doesn’t ordinarily have, as though we were watching a cinéma vérité film. This version makes absolutely clear the universality of the play while at the same time placing it in the milieu that Miller was obviously writing about."
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"New Yiddish Rep's translation opens up whole new vistas of interpretation...The play becomes more about the dangers of assimilation than the failure of the American Dream. If the rootlessness of the Lomans is not apparent in traditional productions, it certainly becomes blatantly obvious when the family becomes Jewish and speaks Yiddish...It's not hard to speculate on how much better even this great classic might have been if Miller had been more in touch with his roots."
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"Moshe Yassur’s direction is impressive, particularly because he doesn’t give himself much furniture to work with...Hoffman leads an excellent company of actors who are not only delving deep into the soul of Miller's masterpiece, they are doing so in Yiddish...If you speak Yiddish, I imagine this production will only be more poignant and moving."
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"I simply can’t get this production out of my mind. Both the company and the cast deserve an abundance of praise for their talents and achievement. Both were inspired. Once again deliberate simplicity produced consequential significance."
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"A winning staging can be a tall order, but director Moshe Yassur is up to the task. Even the production’s shortcomings seem to work in his favor. The action flows seamlessly and quickly from scene to scene, giving a kinetic energy to Willy’s inevitable collapse and making his many fugue-like flashbacks blur into and out of reality with a mesmerizing air of confusion."
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"Avi Hoffman’s performance stands among the best of Willy Lomans in the history of Arthur Miller’s classic...The drama is extremely well mounted under the direction of Moshe Yassur...Helping to make the experience rewarding are the excellent other cast members."
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"A remarkable cast beautifully captures its raw, realistic pathos. Avi Hoffman delivers a tour-de-force portrait of Willie Loman and attention must be paid…Performed on a bare set, save for a table and chairs, the New Yiddish Rep's revival is riveting. Brilliantly calibrated by director Moshe Yassur, who gets exceptional performances from his cast, this version is not to be missed."
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