Press Release PARISH PLAYERS PRODUCE PULITZER PRIZE WINNING "A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE" BY ARTHUR MILLER

The Parish Players of Thetford, Vermont continue their tradition of staging quality theatre with Arthur Miller's "A View from the Bridge." This powerful and tragic play will run for nine performances over three weeks, Friday-Sunday from November 16th-18th, November 30th-December 2nd, and December 7th-9th. "A View from the Bridge" premiered in 1955 at the Coronet Theatre on Broadway, as a one-act, featuring Van Heflin as the deeply troubled Red Hook longshoreman, Eddie Carbone. The following year it debuted in its two-act form in London and has since received numerous revivals and awards, including the 1998 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. It continues to engage in its themes of forbidden love, family conflict and the challenge of the "Outsider." Miller's genius is evident in this major work, as in "Death of a Salesman," "The Crucible" and "All My Sons," as it openly explores - in an almost operatic fashion - some of humankind's most powerful emotions. The drama centers on obsession, denial, and betrayal. Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone lives in a tight-knit hardworking Italian neighborhood near the waterfront with his wife Beatrice and niece Catherine. Catherine's emerging independence and womanhood have begun to bother Eddie; he isn't ready to give up his position as the main man in her life. Into this already tense situation enter two of Beatrice's cousins, Marco and Rodolpho, illegal immigrants from the old country. When Catherine falls in love with Rodolpho, Eddie tries everything he can to dissuade her. Driven by an obsession he can neither understand nor acknowledge, Eddie makes a desperate attempt to restore his family, but his act of betrayal has far-reaching effects in the community, leading to tragic circumstances. Miller's profound understanding of human psychology has a complex musical quality that underscores his exploration of the tragedies of the common man. Director Belinda Ray, whose other productions in Thetford include "Tales of the Lost Formicans," "Eleemosynary," "The Day Room," and "The Lady's Not for Burning," states she was drawn to this American classic through the interest of Alan Gelfant, a native Upper Valley son, who went to New York to become a professional actor and then moved on to Los Angeles to star in numerous films. "Alan's passion for the play won me over," says Ray. Gelfant signed on as co-producer and plays the very dynamic leading role of Eddie. Other cast members include leading area actors, Kay Morton, Skip Cady, Kristin Tate, Ben Peavey, and newcomer to the Parish Players, Douglas Moody, who is an instructor at Dartmouth College. Joining Gelfant and Ray on the production team are veteran Parish Player members: lighting designer Kevin Fitzpatrick, stage manager Linda Neubelt, and scenic designers Skip Cady, and (newcomer from Dartmouth), graphic artist Rex Martin. Tickets prices are $12 by check or cash at the door. Reservations can be made by calling: 802-785-4344. Seating is limited, so early reservations are encouraged. More information can be found at www.parishplayers.org. The Eclipse Grange Theatre, located on Academy Rd, one mile from Interstate 91 in Thetford Hill, Vermont, is handicapped accessible.

Arthur Miller Born in Manhattan in 1915, Arthur Miller's career as a playwright began at the University of Michigan, where he received several Avery Hopwood awards for his playwriting. His first play, "The Man Who Had All the Luck," ran for only a week in 1944, but his next play, "All My Sons', was more successful, winning the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award in 1947. On February 10, 1949, "Death of a Salesman" opened at the Morosco Theatre in New York, where it garnered a second New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Miller as well as the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony Award. Plays to follow include an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's "An Enemy of the People" and "The Crucible." In 1956, "A View from the Bridge" opened in London, a new three-act version of a short play Miller had originally premiered on Broadway. Miller ventured into film with his screenplay "The Misfits," starring Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, his wife at the time. Miller's next play, "After the Fall" (1964), is considered a highly autobiographical account of his life with Monroe. That same year Miller wrote "Incident at Vichy," followed by "The Price" (1968), "The Creation of the World and Other Business" (1972), "The American Clock" (1980), "The Archbishop's Ceiling" (1986), "Ride Down Mt. Morgan" (1991), "The Last Yankee" (1993) and "Broken Glass" (1994). He wrote the screenplay to the 1996 film version of "The Crucible." The Broadway revival of "A View from the Bridge" won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. "Death of a Salesman" received the same award in 1999. In October 1999, the Lyric Opera of Chicago premiered an adaptation of "A View from the Bridge," with music composed by William Bolcom and a libretto by Arnold Weinstien. Arthur Miller died on February 11, 2005, at the age of 89.