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Elizabeth Franz plays Linda Loman in "Death of a Salesman"--so attention must be paid.
When Linda speaks those words in Arthur Miller's 1949 play, she's talking about her husband--salesman Willy Loman, defending the defeated Everyman he has become in the twilight of his career.
"Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character who ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid," Linda says in one of the play's most often-quoted speeches.
But that line might as easily refer to the reaction of audiences to Franz's startling reinvention of the character of Linda in the 50th anniversary revival of "Death of a Salesman," which originated at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, went to Broadway and is now on stage at the Ahmanson Theatre.
Franz, appearing thin as a whisper and fragile as a sparrow opposite Brian Dennehy's barrel-chested Willy, infuses a character-- usually played as a depressed, beaten-down wife--with a fierce energy that not only got her name in the paper but also won her a 1999 Tony Award. The production received three other Tonys, for best revival of a play, best actor for Dennehy and best director for Robert Falls.
Said the New York Times of Franz's Broadway performance: "Ms. Franz's astonishing portrayal shatters that character's traditional passivity to create a searing image of a woman fighting for her life, for that is what Willy is to Linda."
Franz's creative choices took even playwright Miller by surprise. "She discovered in the role the basic underlying powerful protectiveness, which comes out as fury, and that in the past, in every performance I know of, was simply washed out," Miller said in a 1999 interview. "I don't think [Miller] thought of it as being done that way, ever," Franz says in a quiet, almost tremulous voice during an interview backstage at the Ahmanson. "We've got the most incredible ensemble going that I've ever experienced. People who jump off the cliff without a parachute--every one of us is very daring. It's almost scary--the emotions are big, and they drive the play. Everybody's taking a risk up there,...