Every day, in some part of the world, an Arthur Miller play is performed. In the nearly 60 years since its first production, Pulitzer Prize-winning "Death of a Salesman" has become a classic, a staple of school anthologies of American literature and of acting companies' repertoires. It has received worldwide productions, whether as a study of parent-child relationships, as in its landmark 1976 production directed by Miller in Beijing, or as a critique of Western capitalism and has been filmed once for television and twice for movies. This guide provides a comprehensive critical introduction to the play, giving students an overview of the background and context; detailed analysis of the play's structure, style, characters etc; analysis of key production issues and choices; overview of the performance history from the first performances in 1949 to recent productions and film adaptations; and an annotated guide to further reading highlighting key critical approaches.It offers accessible, informative critical introductions to modern plays for students in both Theatre/Performance Studies and English. Offering up-to-date coverage of a broad range of key plays throughout modern drama, the guides include accounts of performance history, production analysis, screen adaptations and summaries of important critical approaches and debates.

Author Biography

Peter L. Hays is Professor Emeritus at the University of California at Davis, USA. Kent Nicholson is an award winning theatre director and is New Works Director for Theatre Works. He serves on the board of directors of The Playwrights Foundation and The National Alliance for Musical Theater.