After the Fall (play)
Encyclopedia
After the Fall is a play by American dramatist Arthur Miller
. The original performance opened in New York City
on January 23, 1964, directed by Elia Kazan
and starring Barbara Loden
and Jason Robards Jr.
, with an early appearance by Faye Dunaway
. Kazan also collaborated with Miller on the script. It is one of Miller's most personal plays, a thinly veiled personal critique centered around Miller's recently failed marriage
to Marilyn Monroe
.
The plot takes place inside the mind of Quentin, a New York
Jewish intellectual
who decides to reexamine his life in order to determine if he should marry his most recent love, Holga.
The play is often criticised for being too similar to Miller's actual life because Maggie's suicide is very similar to the suicide of Miller's once wife, Marilyn Monroe. In fact the feelings of the protagonist, Quentin, are often believed to be Miller's own reflection about his failed marriage. Although this work remains very unpopular to critics, it is revered in the academic arena as a deep and intellectual play, albeit difficult to follow since it does not follow the conventional sequence of events found in typical works.
The play remains one of Miller's less popular works, often attributed in part to the non-linear, often surreal nature of the plot and setting. Indeed, all but the initial and final seconds of the play take place in the protagonist
's brain, which is reflected by a set consisting of a single chair before a concentration camp guard tower, which is itself surrounded by a giant, winding ramp made up of crevices, pits, and abutments. The plot unfolds over a period of time, due to the non-linear nature of the story; characters and occurrences appear as the protagonist remembers them, and, reflecting the nature of the mind, they often disappear and their stories remain unresolved until later in the play, when they spontaneously reappear again.
Barbara Loden
won the 1964 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
, and Jason Robards
was nominated for, but did not win, the 1964 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
.
A television production of the play was shown in 1974. It starred Faye Dunaway
, Christopher Plummer
, Bibi Andersson
and a young Brooke Shields
. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071109/
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
. The original performance opened in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on January 23, 1964, directed by Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
and starring Barbara Loden
Barbara Loden
Barbara Loden was an American film and stage actress and film director....
and Jason Robards Jr.
Jason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
, with an early appearance by Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
. Kazan also collaborated with Miller on the script. It is one of Miller's most personal plays, a thinly veiled personal critique centered around Miller's recently failed marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
to Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
.
The plot takes place inside the mind of Quentin, a New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Jewish intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
who decides to reexamine his life in order to determine if he should marry his most recent love, Holga.
The play is often criticised for being too similar to Miller's actual life because Maggie's suicide is very similar to the suicide of Miller's once wife, Marilyn Monroe. In fact the feelings of the protagonist, Quentin, are often believed to be Miller's own reflection about his failed marriage. Although this work remains very unpopular to critics, it is revered in the academic arena as a deep and intellectual play, albeit difficult to follow since it does not follow the conventional sequence of events found in typical works.
The play remains one of Miller's less popular works, often attributed in part to the non-linear, often surreal nature of the plot and setting. Indeed, all but the initial and final seconds of the play take place in the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
's brain, which is reflected by a set consisting of a single chair before a concentration camp guard tower, which is itself surrounded by a giant, winding ramp made up of crevices, pits, and abutments. The plot unfolds over a period of time, due to the non-linear nature of the story; characters and occurrences appear as the protagonist remembers them, and, reflecting the nature of the mind, they often disappear and their stories remain unresolved until later in the play, when they spontaneously reappear again.
Barbara Loden
Barbara Loden
Barbara Loden was an American film and stage actress and film director....
won the 1964 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play
This is a list of winners and nomination of the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress. The award was first presented in 1947.-1940s:* 1947: Patricia Neal – Another Part of the Forest* 1949: Shirley Booth – Goodbye, My Fancy-1950s:...
, and Jason Robards
Jason Robards
Jason Nelson Robards, Jr. was an American actor on stage, and in film and television, and a winner of the Tony Award , two Academy Awards and the Emmy Award...
was nominated for, but did not win, the 1964 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play presented since 1947, is awarded to actors in productions of new or revival plays.-1940s:*1947 - José Ferrer – Cyrano de Bergerac / Fredric March – Years Ago...
.
A television production of the play was shown in 1974. It starred Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
, Christopher Plummer
Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, Bibi Andersson
Bibi Andersson
Bibi Andersson is a Swedish actress.-Early life:Bibi Andersson was born as Berit Elisabeth Andersson in Kungsholmen, Stockholm, the daughter of Karin , a social worker, and Josef Andersson, a businessman...
and a young Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071109/