The Life And Times Of Arthur Miller [Drama On 4]

Episode

Title

First
Broadcast

Repeated

Comments

Beginnings

20151012

20170726 (R4)

Arthur Miller would have been 100 years old on October 17th this year. To mark the centenary BBC Radio 4, LA Theatre Works, and a stellar American cast have come together to produce four new dramas by Mike Walker and Jonathan Holloway.

As a writer Miller felt that to create a character, you had to understand how family, circumstances and events had shaped that character. 'The fish is in the water and the water is in the fish', as he famously put it. These specially commissioned plays recreate some of the experiences that shaped Miller himself, throwing light on how he would become one of the most influential playwrights in American literature.

1. Beginnings

Arthur Miller is born in New York on the 17th of October 1915 to a prosperous family in the clothing business. A poor school student, he loves making things with wood and dreams of becoming a crooner. But when the stock market crashes and the Millers face ruin, Arthur contemplates a different future. By Mike Walker.

Producer for LA Theatre Works: Susan Loewenberg

Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson and Myke D Wysekopf

Sound by Mark Holden, Wes Dewberry, and Catherine Robinson

A BBC/Cymru Wales and LA Theatre Works Co-Production, directed by Kate McAll

LA Theatre Works is a non-profit audio drama company based in Los Angeles that records classic and contemporary plays. They have been collaborating with the BBC for nearly 30 years, beginning with a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible that starred Richard Dreyfuss and Stacey Keach.

New York, 1915. Arthur Miller is born to a prosperous family in the clothing business.

The Lure

20151013

20170802 (R4)

2. The Lure

The second of four plays marking the centenary of the great American playwright, Arthur Miller.

By the time he was 35, Arthur Miller had a very eclectic CV. He was the son of an illiterate Jewish immigrant, whose once flourishing coat business had failed during the Depression. He'd worked nights in an auto-parts warehouse, been a dock-yard worker, a jobbing writer for Orson Welles, a prize-winning student playwright, and a writer of radio drama for Roosevelt's Federal Theatre Project. He was a communist activist and a highly skilled carpenter. In 1950 Death of A Salesman, directed by his good friend Elia Kazan, became a major Broadway hit. By that time Miller was the father of two children and had been married to his college sweetheart, Mary Slattery, for ten years. Now Hollywood beckoned, where a chance meeting with Marilyn Monroe would change everything. Written by Jonathan Holloway.

Producer for LA Theatre Works: Susan Loewenberg

Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson and Myke D Wysekopf

Sound by Mark Holden, Wes Dewberry, and Catherine Robinson

A BBC/Cymru Wales and LA Theatre Works Co-Production, directed by Kate McAll

LA Theatre Works is a non-profit audio drama company based in Los Angeles that records classic and contemporary plays. They have been collaborating with the BBC for nearly thirty years, beginning with a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible that starred Richard Dreyfuss and Stacey Keach.

After the success of Death of a Salesman, Hollywood beckons to Arthur.

Sin

20151014

20170809 (R4)

3. Sin

The third of four plays marking the centenary of the great American playwright, Arthur Miller.

Arthur Miller's play 'The Crucible' opened in New York City in January 1953. The reviews were mixed. The parallels with Senator McCarthy's witch hunt for Communists with the House Un-American Activities Committee were obvious. Few realised, however, that it also portrayed Miller's dying marriage to his first wife and college sweetheart, Mary Slattery. One of Marilyn Monroe's New Year resolutions of 1955 was to improve her acting by taking lessons. She moved to New York later that year to study with Lee Strasberg. Four years after she and Arthur had first met on the West Coast, they began to see each other again, in secret. The secret wouldn't be kept for long. By Jonathan Holloway.

Producer for LA Theatre Works: Susan Loewenberg

Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson and Myke D Wysekopf

Sound by Mark Holden, Wes Dewberry, and Catherine Robinson

A BBC/Cymru Wales and LA Theatre Works Co-Production, directed by Kate McAll

Four years after Monroe and Arthur met in LA, they secretly begin to see each other again.

Dreams

20151015

20170816 (R4)

4. Dreams

The last of four plays based on the life of the American playwright.

1982, Roxbury, Connecticut. Following his divorce from Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller has been happily married for many years to photographer Inge Morath, whom he met on the set of The Misfits. They live in the New England farmhouse he bought as a summer retreat after his first big Broadway success, All My Sons. Miller has always loved this place. It's where, in 1948, he built a wooden studio, ten feet by twelve, and sat down to write Death of A Salesman. Now in his late sixties, it's been a long time since he had a major success. In Mike Walker's drama, a mysterious young visitor appears at the door and compels him to look back on his life.

Producer for LA Theatre Works: Susan Loewenberg

Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson and Myke D Wysekopf

Sound by Mark Holden, Wes Dewberry, and Catherine Robinson

A BBC/Cymru Wales and LA Theatre Works Co-Production, directed by Kate McAll

By Mike Walker. A mysterious young visitor compels Miller to look back on his life.

Episodes

Episode	Title	First Broadcast	Repeated	Comments
01	Beginnings	20151012	20170726 (R4)	Arthur Miller would have been 100 years old on October 17th this year. To mark the centenary BBC Radio 4, LA Theatre Works, and a stellar American cast have come together to produce four new dramas by Mike Walker and Jonathan Holloway. As a writer Miller felt that to create a character, you had to understand how family, circumstances and events had shaped that character. 'The fish is in the water and the water is in the fish', as he famously put it. These specially commissioned plays recreate some of the experiences that shaped Miller himself, throwing light on how he would become one of the most influential playwrights in American literature. 1. Beginnings Arthur Miller is born in New York on the 17th of October 1915 to a prosperous family in the clothing business. A poor school student, he loves making things with wood and dreams of becoming a crooner. But when the stock market crashes and the Millers face ruin, Arthur contemplates a different future. By Mike Walker. Producer for LA Theatre Works: Susan Loewenberg Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson and Myke D Wysekopf Sound by Mark Holden, Wes Dewberry, and Catherine Robinson A BBC/Cymru Wales and LA Theatre Works Co-Production, directed by Kate McAll LA Theatre Works is a non-profit audio drama company based in Los Angeles that records classic and contemporary plays. They have been collaborating with the BBC for nearly 30 years, beginning with a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible that starred Richard Dreyfuss and Stacey Keach. New York, 1915. Arthur Miller is born to a prosperous family in the clothing business.
02	The Lure	20151013	20170802 (R4)	2. The Lure The second of four plays marking the centenary of the great American playwright, Arthur Miller. By the time he was 35, Arthur Miller had a very eclectic CV. He was the son of an illiterate Jewish immigrant, whose once flourishing coat business had failed during the Depression. He'd worked nights in an auto-parts warehouse, been a dock-yard worker, a jobbing writer for Orson Welles, a prize-winning student playwright, and a writer of radio drama for Roosevelt's Federal Theatre Project. He was a communist activist and a highly skilled carpenter. In 1950 Death of A Salesman, directed by his good friend Elia Kazan, became a major Broadway hit. By that time Miller was the father of two children and had been married to his college sweetheart, Mary Slattery, for ten years. Now Hollywood beckoned, where a chance meeting with Marilyn Monroe would change everything. Written by Jonathan Holloway. Producer for LA Theatre Works: Susan Loewenberg Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson and Myke D Wysekopf Sound by Mark Holden, Wes Dewberry, and Catherine Robinson A BBC/Cymru Wales and LA Theatre Works Co-Production, directed by Kate McAll LA Theatre Works is a non-profit audio drama company based in Los Angeles that records classic and contemporary plays. They have been collaborating with the BBC for nearly thirty years, beginning with a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible that starred Richard Dreyfuss and Stacey Keach. After the success of Death of a Salesman, Hollywood beckons to Arthur.
03	Sin	20151014	20170809 (R4)	3. Sin The third of four plays marking the centenary of the great American playwright, Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller's play 'The Crucible' opened in New York City in January 1953. The reviews were mixed. The parallels with Senator McCarthy's witch hunt for Communists with the House Un-American Activities Committee were obvious. Few realised, however, that it also portrayed Miller's dying marriage to his first wife and college sweetheart, Mary Slattery. One of Marilyn Monroe's New Year resolutions of 1955 was to improve her acting by taking lessons. She moved to New York later that year to study with Lee Strasberg. Four years after she and Arthur had first met on the West Coast, they began to see each other again, in secret. The secret wouldn't be kept for long. By Jonathan Holloway. Producer for LA Theatre Works: Susan Loewenberg Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson and Myke D Wysekopf Sound by Mark Holden, Wes Dewberry, and Catherine Robinson A BBC/Cymru Wales and LA Theatre Works Co-Production, directed by Kate McAll LA Theatre Works is a non-profit audio drama company based in Los Angeles that records classic and contemporary plays. They have been collaborating with the BBC for nearly thirty years, beginning with a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible that starred Richard Dreyfuss and Stacey Keach. Four years after Monroe and Arthur met in LA, they secretly begin to see each other again.
04	Dreams	20151015	20170816 (R4)	4. Dreams The last of four plays based on the life of the American playwright. 1982, Roxbury, Connecticut. Following his divorce from Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller has been happily married for many years to photographer Inge Morath, whom he met on the set of The Misfits. They live in the New England farmhouse he bought as a summer retreat after his first big Broadway success, All My Sons. Miller has always loved this place. It's where, in 1948, he built a wooden studio, ten feet by twelve, and sat down to write Death of A Salesman. Now in his late sixties, it's been a long time since he had a major success. In Mike Walker's drama, a mysterious young visitor appears at the door and compels him to look back on his life. Producer for LA Theatre Works: Susan Loewenberg Associate Producers: Anna Lyse Erikson and Myke D Wysekopf Sound by Mark Holden, Wes Dewberry, and Catherine Robinson A BBC/Cymru Wales and LA Theatre Works Co-Production, directed by Kate McAll LA Theatre Works is a non-profit audio drama company based in Los Angeles that records classic and contemporary plays. They have been collaborating with the BBC for nearly thirty years, beginning with a production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible that starred Richard Dreyfuss and Stacey Keach. By Mike Walker. A mysterious young visitor compels Miller to look back on his life.