NBY. October.2020 - JEREMY BRETT AS SHERLOCK HOLMES * DRIVING MISS DAISY * DEATH OF A SALESMAN.

This month I have found two more great stage plays brought to you live, on film, via BroadwayHD. However, I must confess, I am also hooked on the BBC-TV series “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” starring Jeremy Brett, with 41 hour-long episodes available on You Tube for Free!

DRIVING MISS DAISY. – 2014 – Australia 

In 1987, when I was Theater Critic for The Hollywood Reporter, I reviewed this gentle play when it opened Off Broadway, with Dana Ivey and Morgan Freeman, then went on to win The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. There have been countless productions worldwide, and an excellent film with Jessica Tandy and Morgan Freeman, but this stage production, recorded in Australia, is not to be missed.

Why? Because it stars Angela Lansbury and James Earl Jones! Yes, they are what makes this so special. As Lansbury, 88, commented at the time, “The great thing about theatre, you see, is that it’s all about illusion. At my age, I’m too old to play a 72-year old in the movies. But on stage with makeup, I can!” Said Jones, “I have two favorite characters, Lennie in “Of Mice and Men” and the chauffeur in “Driving Miss Daisy.” They’re both men without language: they have to start from scratch when it comes to communicating. As a result, what they say comes from deep within.”

Inspired by the actual long-term relationship between playwright Alfred Uhry’s Jewish grandmother and her African American chauffeur, this classic play is timeless, and an ultimately hopeful meditation on race relations in America. It’s told through the complex relationship between a 72-year old woman, and a 60-year old man, in Atlanta, throughout the Civil Rights Movement. It’s over 30 years since it was written but its examination of issues around race still resonate.

 DEATH OF A SALESMAN – 1966 – CBS

“For a salesman, there is no rock bottom to life. He don’t put a bolt to a nut, he don’t tell you the Law or give you Medicine. He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine.” This is dialogue from Arthur Miller’s 1949 Pulitzer Prize winning play, that I have seen with numerous actors in the lead role, and even acted in once in Summer Stock. If you’ve never seen this deeply moving play, now you can see a live performance with the stars from the original Broadway cast.

When CBS presented a filmed adaptation of Miller’s classic drama, they brought back the two original leads: Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman and Mildred Dunnock as his loyal wife Linda. This version of the play was adapted by Miller himself, and runs 100 minutes, with no substance lost in the changes. Directed by Alex Segal, it was filmed live after several weeks of rehearsals and still has the powerful effect of the original.

In the play, Willy, who has been a salesman for 34 years, is forced to face the crushing disappointments of his past, especially the loss of the respect of his son Biff. George Segal gives a strong dramatic performance as this favored son, and James Farentino is his cynical brother Happy. One surprise is young Gene Wilder, comical but sensitive as the goofy Bernard.

This production received 11 Emmy nominations with the result of winning three Primetime Emmys, as well as Director’s Guild of America and Peabody Awards. In addition to being Emmy nominated for their awesome performances, both Cobb and Dunnock were also both nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of “Best Spoken Word Drama Recording.”