All My Sons

One of the strengths of L.A. Theatre Works is their skill at selecting quality plays previously unavailable on audio. Arthur Miller's 1947 breakthrough play is at once a postwar family drama, an indictment of false societal values and a searing tragedy. James Farentino plays businessman Joe Keller with a gruff bluster that sometimes masks a sacrificial love for his son Chris (Arye Gross), an idealist home from the war. Julie Harris, as the mother, Kate, is alternately needy, demanding, lovingly solicitous and willfully blind to the past. The live responses of the audience underscore the touches of humor that season the early acts of this landmark American drama. G.H. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine