– Can we talk about the big dog? – What’s the big dog? – “Death of a Salesman.” – Oh, yeah, OK we can talk about the big dog. This to me — it may not be a difficult play, but it is a difficult production to me. – Yeah, yeah. Do you feel, I mean, how do you feel about it as a work? – I mean, I love it. I have to say I love it, because to me it is just distilled sorrow. And I, like, I’m a little bit of a sicko. I go to theater to be reminded that I’m dying. – Right, I mean — – And that life is short. – this is the difficulty, – this is part of what I’m asking, right? Remind me that I am human, – Yeah. but in all the ways I am human. – Yeah. And don’t cut any corners. Don’t spare my feelings. – Yeah. Make it hard. – Yeah. – And if you have ever disappointed a parent, this show is unbearable. If you’ve ever disappointed your child, this show is unbearable. I really, like, that for me is why I watch it, is that it is — it’s almost not different from my life. Do you know what I mean? Like, it’s so close to the things I feel sorrow about. – Like your actual, like, Helen Shaw’s life? Or — – Well, no, I mean, my parents are very proud, but what I mean is that it’s, like, every — it has, — theater is great at creating emotions, it’s very good at turning up the volume and making you feel like you can kick up your heels. It’s very good at making you feel anger, that happens in “Giant.” that happens in “Giant.” It’s very good at making you feel a certain kind of way, a certain kind of way, that’s in “Rocky Horror.” that’s in “Rocky Horror.” But it is also, it has this one emotion that I actually don’t think you get in other media. I don’t think you get it from books. I don’t think you get it from film. Is regret, is you are watching it unfold in front of you, and you can’t stop the play from happening. You can’t get up out of your seat, you can’t put the book down on the coffee table, you can’t stop Willy from doing what he’s doing. And so you regret with him, the way that life is unstoppable. – It didn’t have to be this way. – Exactly. – Maybe it didn’t have to be this way. But also the tragedy of the play is, yes it did. – Yes it did.
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