Last Chance

Theater

“Death of a Salesman” is one of those rare plays that can move audiences to tears in productions of radically different sizes. The staging at the Ahmanson Theatre in 2000 was thrilling because it was so big. It was exciting to hear the hushed silence of so many people hanging on Brian Dennehy’s every word. Yet to see the same play in the intimacy of the Interact Theatre offers equally compelling rewards. To be just a few feet away from the hangdog face of Eddie Jones’ Willy Loman lets you look deeply into his eyes and witness the regret behind his brusque vocal delivery. The actors’ slashing arguments make you feel like a visiting relative who arrived just as the family was cracking up. Director Anita Khanzadian, abetted by lighting designer J. Kent Inasy, respects the almost surreal quality of these scenes. Besides Jones, the Lomans are Marilyn McIntyre as the wife who walks the perilous line between cheerleader and taskmaster, Don Fischer as the anguished wanderer Biff, and Thomas Vincent Kelly as Happy, the son who still believes that the old illusions can come true. Thomas Buderwitz’s set suggests how shrunken Willy’s world feels.

Don Shirley

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Ends Sunday at the Interact Theatre Company, 5215 Bakman Ave., North Hollywood, (818) 773-7862.

Also closing this weekend:

The House of Bernarda Alba--Chay Yew’s new adaptation of Federico Garcia Lorca’s classic play ends Sunday at the Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A., (213) 628-2772.

All’s Kool That Ends Kool--Troubadour Theater Company’s physical, funky romp combining Shakespeare’s comedy, “All’s Well That Ends Well,” with the music of Kool & the Gang ends Saturday at the Miles Memorial Playhouse, 1130 Lincoln Blvd., Santa Monica, (213) 303-0096.