The Huntington Theatre Co.’s “All My Sons” is about as close to perfect as live theater can be. Every element of this stellar production falls so perfectly into place that even those who know Arthur Miller’s classic tale of a family’s wartime struggles with greed and ethics will feel like they’re seeing it for the first time.
Set in 1947 in the backyard of the prosperous Keller family, “All My Sons” is anything but the all-American dream it purports to be. Without a hint of subtlety, Miller exposes the festering wounds beneath the surface of their idyllic lives, rendering them all victims of their secrets and denials.
Director David Esbjornson smartly employs little more than subtle (but incredibly effective) lighting and a talented ensemble to turn the playwrights’ words into gut-wrenching drama.
As family matriarch Kate, Karen MacDonald goes over the top in all the right places. She so completely embodies guilt, grief and the resultant mania that watching her can be exasperating and exhilarating, but you can’t stop.
As Ann Deever, Diane Davis brings a great blend of cheerfulness and optimism to mask a simmering cauldron of emotions. And as the sole-surviving Keller son Chris, Lee Aaron Rosen is so right-on that it’s painful to watch his world crumble.
‘All My Sons’
Through Feb. 7
Huntington Theatre
264 Huntington Ave., Boston
$20-$83, 617-266-0800
www.huntingtontheatre.org
