Great American Playwright Arthur Miller on the 100th Anniversary of His Birth

On the 50th anniversary of Death of A Salesman's Broadway premier, Arthur Miller fans packed a Manhattan bookstore for a rare appearance by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. A teenage girl a few feet from me surveyed the fire-hazard of a crowd and said with awe: It’s like he’s Madonna or something.

Although famous for his appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee in the virulently anti-communist 1950s, when he refused to name colleagues who participated in communist activities, as well as, to his chagrin, his brief marriage to Marilyn Monroe, I like to think that most in attendance were there because they’d been deeply moved by Death of a Salesman or his other work, like me.

Listening to a recording of Death of a Salesman in high school was—for me—an awakening to the possibilities of literature. The characters in the Tony Award-winning play about a 63-year-old salesman who is humiliated and tossed aside by his employer were recognizably real: flawed individuals like the main character and his son, Biff, whose love for the father he'd idolized as a child is as complicated as life itself. It was a revelation to me that this could be captured on the page.

Also profoundly moving is The Crucible, a One Book, One Chicago selection inspired by and a metaphor for the anti-communist hysteria of the 1950s, including Senator Joseph McCarthy’s “witch hunts.” Set in Salem, Massachusetts, The Crucible is based on the late 17th century witch hunts that led to the execution of 20 men and women. At the center of the play is John Proctor, a flawed but sympathetic man who must choose between his life and the truth when he becomes one of the accused.

The Crucible was adapted for the screen by Miller and stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Joan Allen, the latter of Steppenwolf Theatre. Emotionally charged and suspenseful, it’s a great introduction to Miller’s work, and Allen’s performance as Proctor’s wife, particularly in the final scene, is riveting.

Another Steppenwolf actor, John Malkovich, brings equal intensity and raw vulnerability to his portrayal of Biff Loman in the 1985 version of Death of A Salesman. Although Dustin Hoffman stars as Willy Loman in that adaptation, Lee J. Cobb remains the definitive Willy Loman for me.

Explore the playwright’s work in print with The Portable Arthur Miller, which includes the plays above plus excerpts from his autobiography and lesser-known plays like After the Fall. (After the Fall’s Maggie is often viewed as a reflection of Marilyn Monroe.)

Use Hoopla to read or listen to one of Miller's plays right now.

Finally, like theaters around the country, Chicago's TimeLine Theatre Company is commemorating Miller’s 100th birthday with a play. Its production of The Price is on now. The New York Times in 1968 praised this portrait of two brothers in the aftermath of their father's death as "one of the most engrossing and entertaining plays that Miller has every written."