Theatre’s most respected critic, New Yorker critic and biographer John Lahr has compressed his deep understanding of Arthur Miller’s life and creative process into a fascinating biography Arthur Miller: American Witness.

 

In this revealing portrait, full of personal anecdotes from family and friends, and drawing on an unpublished memoir by a nephew, Lahr explores the connections between Miller’s complex family dynamics, particularly with his father and his brother, to illustrate how personal tensions and themes of betrayal feed into plays like Death of Salesman and All My Sons.

 

He also talks about Miller’s collaboration and friendship with Elia Kazan and the rift between them following their testimony to the House Un-American Activities Committee in the era of McCarthyism.

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