Goodman streams Tony-winning 'Death of a Salesman' as a fundraiser

Posted October 15, 2020 11:00 pm

Fans of Brian Dennehy will have a chance to see the late actor's Tony Award-winning performance in one of his signature roles thanks to Goodman Theatre, his longtime artistic home. In cooperation with Showtime, Goodman's 1998 revival of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" (which transferred to Broadway in 1999) will be available online for a limited time as a fundraiser for The Actors Fund COVID-19 relief efforts. The fund provides emergency financial assistance and other services for performers in theater, film and television and other artists.

The award-winning production - which earned Tony Awards for play revival, lead actor Dennehy, director Robert Falls and featured actress Elizabeth Franz - was filmed by Showtime in 2000 and has not aired since.

The production will stream for free Wednesday through Sunday, Oct. 21-25, at goodmantheatre.org/salesman and at playbill.com. However, viewers are encouraged to make a donation to actorsfund.org/salesman.

Kevin Anderson, left, Brian Dennehy and Ted Koch starred in Goodman Theatre's 1998 revival of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesmen." Goodman and Showtime will stream the Tony Award-winning 1999 Broadway transfer free from Oct. 21-25 as a fundraiser for The Actors Fund COVID-19 relief efforts. Courtesy of Eric Y. Exit

Artistic director Falls thanked Showtime and the show's Broadway producers for making the production available at a time when theaters are unable to produce on their own stages.

"I am thrilled to share this momentous, timely production with a new generation," Falls said in a prepared statement. "The great Arthur Miller explored in his plays what it means to be an American, asking what can we expect from our country? How do we find fulfillment if we are just scraping by? Do all our daily efforts make a difference? These questions remain as relevant today as they were in 1949, when the play premiered."

In conjunction with the run, Goodman will be hosting virtual events at goodmantheatre.org. They include a discussion with playwrights Eleanor Burgess ("Wife of a Salesman") and Kimberly Belflower ("John Proctor is the Villain") on re-imagining classic plays at 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. Additionally, Goodman artistic associate Steve Scott hosts "Death of a Salesman: 20 Years Later" - a discussion with Falls and members of the Broadway cast - at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25.

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