SALESMAN MAKES A COMEBACK
ATTENTION must be paid! Wendell Pierce (below), who triumphed as Willy Loman in Death Of A Salesman, will be resuming the role when the play returns to the West End next autumn.
Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, with Pierce and Sharon D. Clarke (on sensational form as Willy’s wife Linda), opened at the Young Vic in May last year to ecstatic reviews from critics and was quickly transferred to the Piccadilly Theatre for a ten-week run.
‘And then this happened,’ said Chris Harper, referring to you-knowwhat. Harper produced the play with Marianne Elliott (who co-directed the production with Miranda Cromwell).
He told me yesterday that Pierce has committed to reprising the role in London, from around September or October 2021. Meantime,
Harper and fellow producer Cindy Tolan have begun conversations with West End theatre owners about where, exactly, it could reopen. There are all manner of chess moves involved before a venue can be determined. Another consideration is Clarke. When the pandemic began, she was about to open on Broadway in Caroline, Or Change. If the musical resumes in New York next September (which is when Cameron Mackintosh predicts theatres over there might re-open), then she clearly won’t be available. Pierce was in Rome with John Krasinski until the beginning of this week, filming the third season of Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan for Amazon Prime. They’re back in the U.S. now, preparing for principal photography to start in January.