Review: Gripping ‘All My Sons’ at Antaeus Theatre Company
- Anita W. Harris
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Arthur Miller wrote his Tony Award-winning play “All My Sons” in the immediate aftermath of World War II. No doubt it carried that resonance when it premiered on Broadway in January 1947. Through excellent staging and acting, Antaeus Theatre Company’s current production of this gripping play carries some of that same resonance — its weighty themes ringing true even today.
Directed by Oánh Nguyễn on the Antaeus’ intimate stage, we first experience the set — scenic designer Fred Kinney’s green-lawned backyard of the Keller family home, haunted by Jeff Gardner’s subtle but moody music and Andrew Schmedake’s bold lighting, featuring lamps pointed toward the audience that further heighten mood as they flash, drawing us into the story and revealing two key players lurking in the home.
It’s a powerful opening that lingers even as the first scenes unfold under cheery morning sunlight in the backyard, with patriarch Joe Keller (Bo Foxworth) reading the paper as he’s visited by neighbors and talks to son Chris (Matthew Grondin).
What they talk about is how Annie (Shannon Lee Clair) has arrived and mother Kate Keller (Tessa Auberjonois) is feeding her breakfast. And also how Chris would like to marry Annie, who was the girlfriend of brother Larry, who died in the war, except Kate refuses to believe that.
Miller’s writing in the first act is deceptively lulling and natural, weaving through dialogue a fabric of family and neighborhood that is sheer Americana. Everything is pretty normal, only marred by Kate’s potentially mad refusal to give up hope about Larry and Chris’ threat to leave Joe’s business and move away if he can’t marry Annie — and maybe, too, how Annie’s father is in prison, and apparently Joe was too for a while.
That simmering tension gives way to even deeper drama as Annie’s brother George (Michael Yapujian) comes to take her away having just visited his father in jail. The second act is a masterclass in writing, staging and performing as layer upon layer of truth is revealed, and the characters are absolutely forced to reconcile with the revelations in their own ways.
All the actors fully embrace that challenge, dressed in effective period costuming by Wendell C. Carmichael. Foxworth and especially Auberjonois are individually impressive throughout but also shine as parents executing a controlled united front to protect their home by manipulating George when he arrives — until a slip undoes everything.
Grondin similarly embodies the likeable Chris’ idealism and belief in grappling with the truth of his life and where he stands, shining especially in the final riveting scenes, as do all the actors. Clair infuses Annie with a grounded strength, and Yapujian brings a believable vulnerability to the troubled George.
The supporting cast of neighbors, who reflect both the tug of the past and reality of the present, also do well, especially Erin Pineda as lively young mother Lydia and Bryan Keith as a warm Dr. Jim Bayliss. Shoutout to the cutifying Aarush Mehta as neighborhood kid Bert “deputized” by Joe and obsessed with jails.
Truth, lies, morality — all are themes that permeate in subtle and then explosive ways in this must-see production of Miller’s devastating play. Even in times of war, what are our ethical responsibilities, including when under economic pressure? That’s a question we must sadly grapple with even today, when the answers may be as clear, but perhaps as difficult to make.
“All My Sons” continues through March 30 at Antaeus Theatre Company in the Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, 110 E. Broadway, Glendale, with performances Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays at 8 p.m., Saturdays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. For tickets and information, call the theatre at 818-506-1983 or visit Antaeus.org. Run time is 2 hours and 25 minutes, including intermission.
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