Apps

Death of a Salesman — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Plot

The play takes place in 1949. The setting is the Loman home in Brooklyn, located amidst a typical row of urban apartment buildings.

Act I

Willy Loman suddenly returns home in the middle of the night, exhausted after a failed business trip to Boston. Worried over Willy's rapidly declining state of mind and a recent near-fatal car accident, his wife Linda suggests that he ask his boss, Howard, to allow him to work in his home city so he will no longer have to travel. Willy complains to Linda about their son, Biff, who is 34 years old and has yet to do something meaningful with his life. Despite Biff having a promising high school football career with many scholarship offers to prestigious universities, he failed in mathematics and was therefore unable to enter a university, and spent years drifting around the Western United States working many odd jobs with no clear goal.

Biff and his younger brother, Happy, who is temporarily staying with Willy and Linda after Biff's unexpected return from the West, reminisce about their childhood together. They discuss their father's mental degeneration, which they have witnessed in the form of his constant indecisiveness and daydreaming about the boys' high school years. Eventually, Willy walks in, angry that the two boys have never amounted to anything. In an effort to pacify their father, Biff and Happy tell him that Biff plans to make an ambitious business proposition the next day.

Act II

The next day, Willy goes to Howard's office for a non-traveling job in town while Biff goes to make a business proposition, but they both fail. Howard staunchly refuses to give Willy a New York job, despite his desperate pleas and ignoring Willy's 34 years of devotion to the company. Willy then loses his temper and ends up getting fired when Howard tells him that he needs a long rest and is no longer allowed to represent the Wagner Company. On the other hand, Biff waits hours to see a former employer named Bill Oliver, who does not remember him and turns him down. In response, the devastated Biff impulsively steals a fountain pen. Willy then goes to the business office of his neighbor Charley, where he runs into Charley's son Bernard, whom Willy used to arrogantly dismiss as an "anemic" loser back when Willy's sons were in high school. Bernard is now a wealthy and successful lawyer about to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court, and is happily married with two children of his own. Bernard tells him that Biff originally intended to go to summer school to make up for failing math, but something happened in Boston when Biff went to visit his father that changed his mind. Charley then offers Willy a stable do-nothing job, but Willy vehemently refuses despite having just lost his job. Charley, who feels insulted, reluctantly gives the now-unemployed Willy money to pay off his life-insurance premium, and Willy shocks him by remarking that, ultimately, a man is "worth more dead than alive."

Happy, Biff, and Willy meet for dinner at a restaurant called Frank's Chop House, but Willy refuses to hear the bad news from Biff and constantly interrupts. Happy tries to coax Biff to lie to their father. Biff angrily tries to tell him what actually happened as Willy gets frustrated, withdraws to the restaurant's bathroom, and slips into a flashback of what happened in Boston the day Biff came to see him: Biff had come to Boston to ask Willy to convince his teacher to curve his failing math grade so he could graduate. However, Willy was in the middle of an extramarital affair with a receptionist named Miss Francis when Biff arrived unexpectedly, and saw the half-dressed woman with him. Biff did not accept his father's cover-up story for her presence, and angrily dismissed him as a liar and a fake before storming out. From that moment, Biff's views of his father changed and set him adrift.

Biff leaves the restaurant in frustration, followed by Happy, flanked by a pair of attractive women named Miss Forsythe and Letta, leaving a confused and devastated Willy behind. When they later return home, Linda scolds them for abandoning their father, while Willy remains outside talking to himself. Biff tries to reconcile with Willy, but the discussion quickly escalates into a heated argument. Biff conveys plainly to his father that he is not meant for anything great, insisting that both of them are simply ordinary, mediocre men meant to lead ordinary lives. The argument reaches an apparent climax as Biff hugs Willy and begins to cry as he pleads for Willy to let go of his unrealistic expectations. Rather than listen to what Biff actually says, Willy appears to believe his son has forgiven him and will follow in his footsteps, and after Linda goes upstairs to bed, lapses one final time into a hallucination, thinking he is talking to his long-dead estranged wealthy brother Ben. In Willy's mind, Ben "approves" of the scheme Willy has dreamed up to take his own life in order to give Biff his life insurance money to help him start a business, that his funeral will be well attended with all his admirers, and that this will leave Biff feeling "thunderstruck". Willy then promptly exits the house, and Biff and Linda cry out in despair as the sound of Willy's car blares up and fades out. The car crashes, and Willy is killed instantly.

The final scene takes place at Willy's funeral. Linda and Happy stand in surprise after Willy's funeral is sparsely attended only by his family, Charley, and Bernard, who does not speak during the scene. Biff upholds his belief that he is no longer interested in becoming a businessman like his father and decides to go back West. Happy, on the other hand, chooses to follow in his father's footsteps. Linda, who has finally paid off the family’s last debts with the life insurance payout, begins to sob, repeating "We're free..." All exit, and the curtain falls.

Characters and cast

Notable casts

William "Willy" Loman: The salesman in the play's title. His product is never disclosed. He is 63 years old, insecure, and self-deluded believing himself to be highly successful and well respected even though he is actually a mediocre salesman who can barely make ends meet. He vacillates between different eras of his life throughout the play, and re-imagines them in the present. Willy's age and deteriorating mental state make him appear childlike.

Linda Loman: Willy's loyal, loving wife. She listens patiently when Willy talks unrealistically about hopes for the future, although she seems to have a good knowledge of what is really going on. She chides her sons, particularly Biff, for not helping their father, and supports her husband, even though he treats her poorly. She is the first to realize that Willy is contemplating suicide.

Biff Loman: Willy's elder son. Biff had a promising high school football career but failed math his senior year and dropped out of summer school when he saw Willy having an affair with another woman. He wavers between going home to try to fulfill Willy's dream for him as a businessman or ignoring his father by going West to be a farmhand where he feels happy. Biff steals because he wants evidence of success, even if it is false evidence.

Harold "Happy" Loman: Willy's younger son. He has lived in the shadow of his older brother Biff, but he still tries to be supportive toward his family. He has a restless lifestyle as a womanizer and ambitions of career advancement. He takes bribes at work. He yearns for approval from his parents, but rarely gets it. His relationship with Linda is turbulent; she looks down on him for his lifestyle.

Charley: Willy's wisecracking yet kind neighbor. He frequently lends Willy money and plays cards with him, although Willy treats him poorly. Willy is envious of him because his son is more successful than Willy's and because Charley has his own business. Throughout the play Charley offers Willy a stable do-nothing job, but Willy declines every time, even after losing his job.

Bernard: Charley's son. In Willy's flashbacks, he is a stereotypical nerd. Willy forces him to give Biff test answers and sees him as an "anemic" loser compared to Biff. Later, he is a wealthy and successful lawyer who is happily married and expecting a second son – the same successes that Willy wants for his sons.

Productions

The original Broadway production was produced by Kermit Bloomgarden and Walter Fried. The play opened at the Morosco Theatre on February 10, 1949, closing on November 18, 1950, after 742 performances. The play starred Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman, Mildred Dunnock as Linda, Arthur Kennedy as Biff, Howard Smith as Charley and Cameron Mitchell as Happy. Albert Dekker and Gene Lockhart later played Willy Loman during the original Broadway run. It won the Tony Award for Best Play, Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Arthur Kennedy), Best Scenic Design (Jo Mielziner), Producer (Dramatic), Author (Arthur Miller), and Director (Elia Kazan), as well as the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. Jayne Mansfield performed in a production of the play in Dallas, Texas, in October 1953. Her performance in the play attracted Paramount Pictures to hire her for the studio's film productions.

The play has been revived on Broadway six times:

June 26, 1975, at the Circle in the Square Theatre, running for 71 performances. George C. Scott starred as Willy.

March 29, 1984, at the Broadhurst Theatre, running for 97 performances. Dustin Hoffman played Willy. In a return engagement, this production re-opened on September 14, 1984, and ran for 88 performances. The production won the Tony Award for Best Revival and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival.

February 10, 1999, at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, running for 274 performances, with Brian Dennehy as Willy. The production won the Tony Award for: Best Revival of a Play; Best Actor in Play; Best Featured Actress in a Play (Elizabeth Franz); Best Direction of a Play (Robert Falls). This production was filmed.

March 15, 2012, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, in a limited run of 16 weeks. Directed by Mike Nichols, the production starred Philip Seymour Hoffman as Willy, Andrew Garfield as Biff, Linda Emond as Linda, and Finn Wittrock as Happy.

October 9, 2022, at the Hudson Theatre, for a limited engagement of 17 weeks. Directed by Miranda Cromwell, the production starred Wendell Pierce as Willy, Sharon D. Clarke as Linda, Khris Davis as Biff, André De Shields as Ben, and McKinley Belcher III as Happy. Pierce and Clarke reprised their roles from the 2019–20 West End production.

April 9, 2026, at the Winter Garden Theater, for a limited run of 22 weeks. Directed by Joe Mantello, the production stars Nathan Lane as Willy, Laurie Metcalf as Linda, Christopher Abbott as Biff, and Ben Ahlers as Happy. The production won six Tony Awards, including Best Revival, the most awards ever for a revival. The revival was produced by Scott Rudin and Barry Diller. In August, 2026, the production closed after 36 previews and 131 regular performances.

It was also part of the inaugural season of the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1963.

The title role was performed at the Playhouse Theatre (Perth) in March 1979 by Warren Mitchell under the direction of Stephen Barry. In September 1979, Mitchell reprised the role for the Royal National Theatre in London. "It was a performance that won him both an Evening Standard Award and an Olivier and was highly praised by Peter Hall (director), while Arthur Miller reportedly described the turn as one of the best interpretations of the part he had ever seen."

Christopher Lloyd portrayed Willy Loman in a 2010 production by the Weston Playhouse in Weston, Vermont, which toured several New England venues.

Antony Sher played Willy Loman in the first Royal Shakespeare Company production of the play directed by Gregory Doran in Stratford-upon-Avon in the spring of 2015, with Harriet Walter as Linda Loman. This production transferred to London's West End, at the Noël Coward Theatre for ten weeks in the summer of 2015. This production was part of the centenary celebrations for playwright Arthur Miller.

The play ran from 24 October 2019 until 4 January 2020 at the Piccadilly Theatre in London, starring Sharon D. Clarke and Wendell Pierce.

Anthony LaPaglia starred as Loman in the Australian production at Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, in 2023 and the Theatre Royal Sydney in 2024. The play was directed by Neil Armfield. The cast included Alison Whyte as Linda Loman, Josh Helman as Biff Loman, and Ben O'Toole as Happy. The production opened to positive reviews in both cities.

David Hayman played Willy Loman in a Trafalgar Theatre production directed by Andy Arnold which toured the United Kingdom and Ireland in the spring of 2025.

Paul Mescal will play Biff Loman in a Lyttelton Theatre production in 2027.

Death of a Salesman

Comments

Death of a Salesman

Comments

Death of a Salesman across IJR

Article

Notable quotes

Notable quotes

Article

Background

Plot

Characters and cast

Themes

Reality and illusion

Tragedy

Reception

In the United States

In the United Kingdom

In Germany

In India

In China

In Poland

Productions

Adaptations in other media

Works inspired by the play or its productions

Awards and nominations

Death of a Salesman across IJR