Stage Banter: The Arena Stage Blog

Arena on eBay goes live today, May 5th!

Arena Stage’s online auction, Arena on eBay, runs May 5th to 19th, offering items for a variety of budgets and occasions. Get to know more about Arena Stage programs with exclusive backstage opportunities, explore Washington’s restaurant scene, or get away from it all with exciting travel packages! One lucky winner will get drinks and a goodnight kiss with Tony-nominated actor Brad Oscar, while another will have lunch with Project Runway’s Tim Gunn at the Bryant Park Grill!

The best part? As you admire your autographed poster, enjoy the breeze on the deck of a Potomac River cruise, or watch an outdoor concert, your contribution will help share your love of theater with some of D.C.’s youngest citizens.

Every year, Arena Stage’s Community Engagement programming reaches thousands of youth in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area – including many from the most underserved areas of the city - with theater tickets, enrichment activities, and customized workshops. All proceeds from Arena on eBay benefit the theater’s Community Engagement programs.

Visit the Arena Stage auction site at http://www.ebay.com/arenastage to check out all the fabulous items up for bid! Items will be added throughout the auction – be sure to keep checking back for more!

Citizen Review: The Arthur Miller Festival

posted by Susan Williams

In this election year, we hear so much rhetoric about the economy, immigration and the middle class, that the issues are much on our minds. It's not surprising, then, that I saw much about these subjects in both of these plays. And I thought, as I always do when viewing or reading the classics, that some things never change...certainly, human beings don't change very much. We see in both plays the plight of working class Americans, the struggle to move up in society, and in A View from the Bridge the hardships of illegal but hard working immigrants.

In addition, both families are dysfunctional and composed of highly complex characters. I was impressed with all of the acting, but particularly Rick Foucheux as Willy Loman and Delaney Williams as Eddie Carbone. They each manage to express the nuances of their characters, which is not easy. Particularly so for Eddie, since he remains firmly in denial about his illicit feelings of love/lust for his niece. And of course, Willy Loman is over 60 and over the hill...not a modern concept, but it was certainly acceptable in the 1940's. 

The evening I attended A View from the Bridge I sat near a group of high school students and their teachers who were visiting DC from North Carolina. I could tell from their comments that they were quite taken with the play, and they definitely "got it". It occurred to me that when this play was first produced, it would not have been considered an appropriate play to take high school kids to. I think it's a good thing that kids in 2008 are a lot more savvy,and are able to discuss even the darkest motives of such characters as Eddie Carbone.