Famously described by critic Kenneth Tynan (The Observer) as “The greatest American play,” Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman has been an essential part of our national consciousness since its Broadway debut in 1949, and throughout every subsequent era. The original production, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Lee J. Cobb, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play, and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award.
The New York Times theater critic Brooks Atkinson wrote of that original production, “By common consent, this is one of the finest dramas in the whole range of the American theater. Humane in its point of view, it has stature and insight, awareness of life, respect for people and knowledge of American manners and of modern folkways. It is virtuoso theater. It brings the theater alive.”
