Obsession, crime, and jealousy will all be part of the Center for Theatre Art’s latest production, A View From the Bridge. The play tells the tale of Arthur Miller’s modern tragedy, featuring a talented cast of both professional actors and Cornell students. The show depicts a dramatic tale of obsession in an imaginary world of a family of working class, Italian immigrants. This world is severely disrupted when two illegal immigrants enter their lives.
Eddie Carbone, the patriarch of this Brooklyn, Italian household, is played by actor, Tim True, a graduate of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival who, after several years of performing in New York. True feels fortunate not to be, “shackled with poor writing.” He said that “when you’re working with great writing, it guides you.”
Eddie’s story is one of constant turmoil, set into motion by Rodolpho and Alfieri’s brief stay in their home. Played respectively by Michael Seth Benn and Brian Russell, Rodolpho and Alfieri not only interrupt Eddie’s life, but that of Eddie’s beloved niece Catherine. Catherine, played by Melissa Mortazavi, is a sincere character whose forced, progression from a naive child to a woman is a large part of the continuous drama within the play. She has found it an amazing experience to be working with the rest of the cast and has particularly enjoyed working with Director, Bob Hall. “He gave us a lot of space to find our own way with the character, while giving us just enough guidance.” The positive energy amongst characters have made the cast and crew’s experience extraordinary, taking the show to many different levels of modern theatre.
According to Director Bob Hall, what also makes this production unique is the simple, straight flow between scenes. “There are not a lot of scene changes,” he said. “Imagination fills in the walls. It flows like a juggling match.”
Besides years of freelance directing and a genuine love for all aspects of the theatre, Hall brings to the show a clean slate with a new vision. Having never seen a production of the tragedy, he has let no pre-conceived notions stand in his way. He said that every moment in Miller’s writing has spoken to him, and Hall trusts his own instincts in creating the theatre for it. With such familiar and believable characters, A View From the Bridge is what Hall calls, “Raw, emotional, straightforward theatre.” The emotion and the intensity for the characters are what will keep the audience entertained.
A View From the Bridge will be performed at the Proscenium theatre of the CTA on Sept. 14-16 and 21-23 at 8pm, and Sept. 23 at 2 pm.
Archived article by Melissa Sarno