(Alfred Hickling’s article appeared in the Guardian, 3/17.)
Arthur Miller's drama is a classic tale of a house divided,or in this case, the contents of an old house that has to be cleared. The Franz brothers have ceased to communicate since Victor sacrificed his college education to nurse their ailing father while Walter left them to it and went on to build a lucrative surgical career. Between them stands the sagacious figure of Solomon, a 90-year-old Russian-Jewish junk merchant, whose job is to broker custody of the antiquated rowing oar and a broken harp.