Phoenix Theatre (San Francisco, CA)
Off Broadway West Theatre Company presents Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge. This complex, emotionally affecting drama tells the story of a New York longshoreman, his relationship with his orphaned niece, and his wife's two cousins, who have immigrated illegally from Italy.
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The last date listed for A View from the Bridge was Friday August 21, 2009 / 8:00pm. (view all dates)
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Tense, intimate, and very engaging. Those are three words I would use to describe this production of "A View from the Bridge". Excellently cast and powerfully acted, this is a play about an Italian family trying to make it in America, who take in two illegals who have dropped into their lives desperate for a chance at getting work and making a life for themselves. How all this works out is the essence of a story that immediately pulls the viewer in and makes you care what happens. Highly recommended!
Great play. Really enjoyed it.
A few days ago a very pleasant surprise was waiting for me. On a Thursday evening with nothing better to do I went to see A View from the Bridge at the Off Broadway West Theatre. I was surprised indeed because the actors were very much up to the task of Arthur Miller’s demanding play. They were as good as any group I have seen recently in the Bay Area. Their performance well compensated for the Spartan scenes. After the show a lady from Salt Lake City told me that I should not have been surprised. She usually comes to see this theater company when she comes to San Francisco. Initially she also just stumbled on the Off Broadway West Theater. I had a rewarding evening far beyond my expectations.
Tibor Harsanyi
San Francisco
The theater is intimate-sized and gives you a sense of being within the frame of each scene. The acting was fabulous; if you aren't familiar with Arthur Miller writings don't let this hamper your decision on going - it's a 'must see' off-broadway play San Francisco is fortunate to offer.
My partner and I were both very happy with the rich performances (especially Eddy and Alfieri). The whole cast did an oustanding job in a tiny space (which was the only drawback for me). This is a great acting company!
this was a first rate performance in a small, intimate setting. the staging, lighting and sound made you feel as though you were actually involved with the play. the actors were simply brilliant. my wife and i were left breathless by the intensity of this performance. by all means attend this terrific night of theater.
Fabulous acting. Very intimate theatre. Moving story that held my interest every moment.
I happen to a Sicilian from Brooklyn...
This was my first time attendance at an Off Broadway West Theater Company production. What few reviews there were about the production sounded interesting, and I love the plays of Arthur Miller, so I took a chance.
It is amazing to me how a small budget company can put out such a powerful presentation of a multi-layered work such as this. Richard Harder as Eddie is absolutely spell-binding from the moment he makes his entrance. He reminds me of a young Brando, with an unsettling potential to lash out at any time. He commands the stage at every moment.
The other cast members are also pitch-perfect in their roles, giving the right sense of balance and believability to some very highly charged and raw emotions. Randy Hurst, as the attorney, acts as the Greek Chorus for the piece, guiding the drama along with his ironic commentary to its inevitable conclusion.
The Phoenix Theater is a very small venue, more like a theater-in-the-round. The setting was ingeniously done, with the action very close to the audience. My seat was in the first roll, and the ambiance and the characterizations were so strong that at key moments, the emotions of the actors became overwhelming, and I could feel myself pull back in my seat, as though I were witnessing some private domestic agony.
A GREAT evening of theater.....!!! Do not miss this one. I eagerly look forward to future OBWT productions.
I adore performances in small theatres because I feel that I am a part of the play. A View from the Bridge was a very good production. My first love is drama, so I always enjoy watching plays. At first I was not too pleased with the casting, but by the end of the play it all worked out perfectly and everyone fell into place.
This was a heart-felt production and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys drama.
Really enjoyed the play. The small theatre make it very intimate. Acting is very good. The accent are a little off some time but it does not really matters. Srongly recomend it
Excellent acting. The mother/wife, Bea, was especially convincing. Topical subject. Suspenseful even though it was clear what was going to happen.
I was very impressed. I used to act and often end up unintentionally analyzing. But I completely got caught up in the story and performances. It was great!
We thought it was an excellent production. Acting was the best we have seen in a long time and the play is worth doing.
I had seen this play performed a number of years ago by a good production company (STC) in Sacramento, and I thought then that it was one of the best theater experiences I had ever had. It is an extrordinary piece of writing.
This one is better.
Richard Harder gives a searing performance as Eddie Carbone, and he is well supported by the rest of the cast. He really brings it.
The intimacy of the small setting and the threadbare venue almost belie the majesty and the power of Mr. Harder's wrenching and agonizing portrayal of this character's torment.
Theater at its best.
The acting was superb. The script, we especially liked because of its realistic approach to life. (These are the kind of plays that we like to attend)
I enjoyed the show and venue.
I have always wanted to see "A View from the Bridge" and I was not disappointed. Good performances in a beautifully written piece. Go see it.
Great story and acting by the senior actors and a little weaker performance by the younger ones. Flubs made by some of the senior actors, though, which were a bit distracting. Definitely worth seeing.
The acting is brilliant and the story is powerful and intense. This was a great theater experience.
This play was very well done. The actors were great, the pace was great. It did not disappoint at all. And, I like small, little theaters.
This intimate production (everyone is close to the stage!) was powerful, effective, and entertaining. Watching the inevitable play itself out made for a wonderful evening of theater. Richard Harder did a great job in the lead role as Eddie. Go see this show!
I was glad to see VIEW for the first time. The script is solid and plays well, ranking it high in the Arthur Miller repertoire. The use of illegal immigrants as a plot device is strikingly contemporary. One nit to pick: Miller wanted to create a Greek myth style tragedy but his telling us that in the gratuitous epilogue ends the play not with a bang but a whimper.
The able cast creates some moving and explosive scenes, and is reason enough to see this show. I thought the handsome actor playing Rodolpho could have played more passion underneath his bridled romance with Catherine.
On the whole, Peter Tripp's pacing of the play surges forward to the powerful climactic scenes. There were some weak spots. The opening of the play is boring and includes a long pause when no one's on stage. In a few scenes radio music drowned out the actors. There are other minutes when everyone is talking at once and there is no focus. The McCarthy hearings sound cue, which plays before the last scene, is an awkward reference to the playwright, removing us from the tense dramatic action, jarring the momentum of the production that had swelled so well.
The first rate realistic set design made wonderful use of the contained acting space, provided for fluid movement of the actors. It was marred only by the funky black on white sketch of the bridge dominating upstage center.
The theatre is wonderfully intimate. Despite my reservations, this show packs a whallop.
A must see. Excellent performance.
Very good acting, and of course wonderful story. well done...even most of the accents. eddie was very powerful. don't miss it.
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An intimate black box theatre very close to Union Square.
Off Broadway West Theatre Company presents Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge. Arthur Miller is considered one of the great American dramatists and in this work, one of the finest examples of dramatic literature, his themes of shameful betrayal, informing on friends, and the dilemma of immigration are as resonant today as they were when the play premiered in 1955. It will be directed by Peter Tripp, former co-founder and Artistic Director of the One Act Theatre Company, one of the premier one-act companies nationwide.
The main character in the story is Eddie Carbone, an Italian American longshoreman, who lives with his wife Beatrice and orphaned niece Catherine. His feelings for Catherine, however, develop from protective and paternal into something more than filial as the play develops. These feelings are brought into perspective by the arrival from Italy of Beatrice’s two cousins, Marco and Rodolpho. They have entered the country illegally, hoping to leave behind hunger and unemployment for a better life in America, and to help build a better life for those left behind. Rodolpho is young, good-looking, blond, and single – he sings, dances and is charming; Catherine instantly falls for him.
Of all Miller’s plays, A View from the Bridge is his most successful in modeling the format of the Greek tragedy, American style. Mr. Tripp has added another innovation by having Eddie Carbone played by an African American actor. He believes that color-blind casting is an important theatrical concept to regularly explore. It refreshes the atmosphere of the play and urges other theatre directors to cast without regard to race or ethnicity.
Off Broadway West Theatre Company was established in 2006 to promote and encourage the continued development of theatre in San Francisco by providing leadership and opportunities for participation, education and sharing the enjoyment of diverse theatre experiences. OBW is committed to producing a minimum of one play per season that has been on Broadway and/or Off Broadway by which connecting the East and West.