In the Spotlight: All My Sons

Every year, the APT company gets together pre-season for the Directors' Chat. This is an opportunity to show off early design, talk about the ideas behind the play and to simply immerse in APT during the off-season. Now, our directors tend to have pretty full schedules, and often can't make it to events. In that case, they will send a proxy letter. This year, All My Sons Director William Brown was one of those cases. And here is the lovely letter he sent to be read by the lovely Sarah Day. Dear friends and loved ones at APT, How thrilled was I when Brenda asked me to direct My Three Sons. I've always loved that show - so warm and funny. But then of course, who you gonna get to replace Fred MacMurray? And then I immediately thought of Jonathon Smoots. I begin to think about the kids---What? Oh. Sorry. I misunderstood. How honored was I when Brenda asked me to direct All My Sons. Very different from that other show we were talking about. And yet maybe they are just two sides of the same coin. And there's still a great role for Jonathon Smoots. When Arthur Miller was writing All My Sons, the American Dream really seemed possible. More than just possible, it seemed inevitable. World War II was over and we were the most powerful nation on earth. We had defeated two world powers and emerged from the Great Depression. And to millions of mothers and fathers across the country, that meant life would certainly be better for their children. The American Dream was not a term of derision. And it wasn't meant to be ironic. But even in such a time of peace and prosperity, Arthur Miller was not prepared to throw something on the grill and put his feet up. Much of the world was in ruins, millions dead. It was, for him, precisely the time to ask questions about what kind of moral universe did we want to inhabit. What lengths would we go to in order to live this American Dream? How honest were we prepared to be? And what exactly were are our responsibilities to others? This is a powerful play. But it is not about powerful people. It is about the family next door, or maybe your own family. It takes place in your neighborhood, in a tremendously hopeful time for the generation that fought the war and the parents that sent them off to that war. It takes place in a past that believed wholeheartedly in the remarkable future ahead. Last summer I directed Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, an epic tale of the Greek war with Troy. Rife with princes and generals and famous lovers, our outdoor stage seemed the perfect venue. This summer, we're going to sit in the backyard on a beautiful summer day. Let's say we're in some place like, oh I don't know - Wisconsin. A neighborhood outside of a larger town. We'll sit down with some actors who grew up Wisconsin. Maybe we'll have some lemonade. What a perfect venue for All My Sons. What a terrific play for APT to be doing. See you soon, William Brown