A Letter from
March 4, 1996
Fort Worth, TX
Dear Mr. Stark:
I am indebted to you for sending me your "Theater Mirror" review of DEATH OF A SALESMAN on the Internet. I did not know that reviews existed on that medium yet, but it seems to move faster than anything in years. I am glad to know how moved you were by the play because we feel the same thing up on stage. It is such a powerful play, unlike any that has been written in a long time. Playing the Colonial Theater for a Boston audience was a thrill for us. I was so pleased to know that you got my pantomime at the end about the hammock and the two elms. I sometimes wonder if people understand it. Now I am relieved.
I do not know how to respond to your question about Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams not bringing new plays through Boston since Eliot Norton retired. I was not aware that was true. Eliot was a great critic and great supporter of the theater and very thoughtful to me. I wish some of the younger critics out of the academic coccoon would have a fuller understanding of the responsibility they take on when criticizing a play. It is an event on the stage by that time, not a piece of literature on a page.
Thank you again for writing of the play and writing and sending me your very interesting review.