{"id":6114,"date":"2013-05-24T11:33:55","date_gmt":"2013-05-24T18:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=6114"},"modified":"2013-05-24T12:22:03","modified_gmt":"2013-05-24T19:22:03","slug":"all-my-sons-a-moral-dilemma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/all-my-sons-a-moral-dilemma\/","title":{"rendered":"“All My Sons” \u2014 A Moral Dilemma"},"content":{"rendered":"

Family is everything to Joe Keller in \u201cAll Our Sons.\u201d It\u2019s the way he defines his place in the world and motivates many of his actions. But money also affects his decisions, and the two aren\u2019t mutually exclusive, so when he takes a risk, everyone feels the repercussions.<\/p>\n

Conflicting values and the morality involved are at the heart of Arthur Miller\u2019s \u201cAll Our Sons,\u201d the Ross Valley Players\u2019 fifth production of the season, which opened at the Barn Theatre at the Marin Art & Garden Center in Ross on Friday, May 19. The play, set in the 1940s following World War II, captures one family\u2019s unraveling in the course of one long day, as secrets come spilling out, shattering the fragile reality each of its members has built.<\/p>\n

As the first act opens, we see a backyard that suggests a comfortable life\u2014roses growing on a fence, a rocking chair on the porch, a basket of apples on the steps. The scene looks pleasant enough, but something is amiss. On one side, a tree\u2014a sapling really\u2014is broken, and we learn that Joe and Kate planted the tree in honor of their son Larry, who disappeared during World War II and whose memory casts a shadow over their lives as words go unspoken.<\/p>\n

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Bert (Elliot Clyde, left) and Joe (Craig Christiansen) enjoy a lighthearted moment as Chris (Francis Serpa) looks on. (Photo: Robin Jackson)<\/p><\/div>\n

Joe\u2019s wife, Kate, refuses to believe that Larry is dead, creating a dilemma for the Keller\u2019s surviving son Chris, who is convinced his brother is dead and wants to marry his fianc\u00e9e, Ann Deever. While Joe and Kate welcome Ann into their home, her presence also makes them uncomfortable, partly because she was engaged to Larry, but also because her father, Steve, is in prison after being convicted of supplying defective airplane parts to the military, resulting in the death of 21 pilots. Joe is the owner of the plant that manufactured the parts and thus Steve\u2019s employer, and although Joe was absolved of any complicity in the case, doubts linger.<\/p>\n

The story gets intense when Ann\u2019s brother George (Philip Goleman) arrives for a visit, setting into motion action that leads to an argument and a slip of the tongue that unleashes revelations and culminates in a searing conclusion.<\/p>\n

Caroline Altman\u2019s direction, with brisk pacing, makes the production absorbing, as does a strong cast. Craig Christianson, as Joe, brings anger and passion to his role, showing a range of emotions. He undoubtedly believes Larry is dead, but supports Kate\u2019s belief that their son will return, saying that newspaper reports, \u201cEvery month, someone shows up out of nowhere.\u201d In contrast, accusations that Steve is a murderer make him angry, and he defends his former employee in an outburst that seems inexplicably excessive.<\/p>\n

Kristine Ann Lowry is masterful as Kate, portraying a mother\u2019s anguish as she tries to maintain the status quo, often conveying her feelings in heartfelt facial expressions without saying a word as she insists her son will reappear and at the same tries to protect her husband.<\/p>\n

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Kate Keller (Kristine Ann Lowry, left) listens to words of advice from Dr. Jim Bayliss (Javier Alarc\u00f3n). (Photo: Robin Jackson)<\/p><\/div>\n

Amber Collins Crane, who portrays Ann, manages to convey a kind of innocence mixed with experience as a young woman who possesses a devastating secret. As Chris, Francis Serpa shows the frustration of a man who has experienced war and wants to do the right thing, but is torn between his parents and the woman he loves.<\/p>\n

The supporting characters, from Javier Alarc\u00f3n as Dr. Jim Bayliss, who delivers a message about conflict and comprise, to 10-year-old Elliot Clyde as Bert, who holds a key to the play\u2019s conclusion, deliver performances that round out the story and keep the audience engaged.<\/p>\n

Ken Rowland\u2019s set designs, Michael A. Berg\u2019s costumes and an attention to historical detail capture life in America after World War II and place it firmly in time, and yet the play doesn\u2019t seem dated.<\/p>\n

Miller wrote \u201cAll Our Sons\u201d in 1947, and the story is based on a real-life wartime case in which a manufacturer knowingly shipped faulty airplane parts to the military, causing several pilots to crash and die. The incident is central to the play, which debuted in New York at a time when the memories and trauma of war were still fresh. The themes\u2014family, money, betrayal, conscience\u2014are universal, however and go beyond the limits of time. Miller\u2019s plays tend to be topical, but they work on two levels, both telling a story and reflecting on society, and this time capitalism and its pros and cons are in the spotlight, as well as the meaning of family.<\/p>\n

Director Caroline Altman says the play makes her think of shadows, and we can perceive memories of past decisions hanging like shadows over the characters as they struggle to contain their secrets in the face of love and loss. \u201cAll Our Sons\u201d is a snapshot of one family\u2019s experience, but the conflict is timeless.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll Our Sons\u201d runs at the Barn Theatre at the Marin Art & Garden Center, 30 Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, Ross, through June 9. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Post-show talkbacks with the director and actors take place Sunday, May 26, and Sunday, June 9.<\/p>\n

Tickets are $26 general admission and $22 for seniors 62 and over and students 18 and under. To order tickets, call 415-456-9555, ext. 1 or www.rossvalleyplayers.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Family is everything to Joe Keller in \u201cAll Our Sons.\u201d It\u2019s the way he defines his place in the world and motivates many of his actions. But money also affects…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[144],"tags":[381,382,384,383,385],"class_list":{"0":"post-6114","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-judith-wilson","7":"tag-all-my-sons","8":"tag-arthur-miller","9":"tag-marin-art-garden-center","10":"tag-ross-valley-players","11":"tag-the-barn-theatre"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"