IF YOU GOWhat: "All My Sons."When: 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday.Where: Rudd Auditorium, Bryan College, Dayton, Tenn.Admission: $5 Bryan College community, $7 non-Bryan College students, $9 others.Phone: 423-775-7271 or 775-7500.
Arthur Miller's first Broadway hit, "All My Sons," comes to life on the Bryan College stage this weekend in the Hilltop Players' first production of the year.
Directed by assistant professor and Theatre Fellow Jared Cole, "All My Sons" is the story of Joe Keller and his family facing ramifications of decisions made during World War II, just a few years earlier.
"All My Sons" won the Drama Critics Award for Best New Play in 1947 and preceded other Miller classics, including "Death of a Salesman" and "The Crucible."
"It's an American tragedy," Cole said. "It follows the same patterns as a Greek tragedy; it is set in one day, and there is a tragic figure, a person of prominence with a tragic flaw."
The Hilltop Players have a theme of "A, B, C" this year, with the second and third productions "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" (Jan. 30-Feb. 4) and "Curtains: A Musical Murder Mystery" (April 19-21). Both are comedies, a stark contrast to "All My Sons."
Cole said Miller's "Death of a Salesman" and "Crucible" probably are produced and studied more in academia, but "All My Sons" is a favorite in theater circles.
"It's just a powerful play," he said. "Plus, it has an ending you won't forget."