Death of a Salesman | Adelaide | Review

Experience a Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece in this unforgettable theatrical event, starring Anthony LaPaglia. Recommended for ages 15+.

Review by Carla Caruso

I’d never studied Death of a Salesman at school, but I was familiar with its name.

It’s one of those iconic stories you feel you should know more about. Up there with Moby-Dick, War and Peace and A Streetcar Named Desire. 

So, when I was invited to the opening performance of the Adelaide season at the Festival Theatre, I immediately RSVP’d. With Hollywood star Anthony LaPaglia returning to his hometown in the lead role, I was already lining up a plus-one.

The story, as I discovered, might be about an ordinary man, but the cast is anything but average. The star-studded lineup includes Alison Whyte (Faith Healer, The Dressmaker), Josh Helman (Mad Max: Fury Road, X-Men), and Ben O’Toole (Hacksaw Ridge). Director Neil Armfield brings his own clout, with a stellar theatre résumé including Cloudstreet, The Secret River, Hamlet and A German Life.

The 1949 play, written by Arthur Miller – Marilyn Monroe’s former husband – has themes that remain scarily relevant 77 years later. Inspired by Miller’s uncle, who would often compare his own sons competitively with Miller and his brother, the story centres on Willy Loman (LaPaglia), an ageing salesman. Willy’s spent his life believing that wealth and popularity are the keys to happiness.

As his career and finances decline, he becomes increasingly obsessed with the idea that his jockish sons, Biff (my favourite of the cast) and Happy, will fulfil the dreams he once had for himself. The play shifts between reality and Willy’s memories, exposing the gap between the life he imagined and the one he actually lived.

There are some pearlers of lines along the way. Biff tells Willy: “You blow me full of hot air, and then you can’t stand taking orders.” Later, he adds: “I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you.” Both cut to the heart of the play, with Biff rejecting his father’s belief that they are destined for something extraordinary, despite Willy’s continual peacocking.

It also makes you wonder about yourself. Do we spend our lives believing we’re somehow special – above being, say, office ‘plebs’ – when really we’re just kidding ourselves? Perhaps we’re one of a million, rather than one in a million, and maybe that’s okay?

Willy’s obsession with success is exposed when his neighbour Charley tells him that his son Bernard is about to argue a case before the Supreme Court. Bernard has come a long way from the awkward, bookish boy Willy once dismissed, but Bernard doesn’t even mention the achievement himself. As Charley puts it: “He don’t have to. He’s gonna do it.” A neat contrast to Willy’s endless talk about what Biff is going to achieve.

Then there’s another line from Willy that really sticks: “Work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there’s nobody to live in it.”

Indeed, what exactly are we all racing towards? The sentiment feels particularly relevant amid today’s cost-of-living pressures and high mortgage rates. The play also explores themes of toxic masculinity and loneliness that still hit home.

The production’s staging is striking, too. Actors not involved in the immediate action sit silently in the bleachers, evoking Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field and Biff’s school football glory days. You’ll find yourself wondering how the actors manage not to scratch or fidget while serving as a backdrop.

LaPaglia’s Willy, meanwhile, is often breathless, veering between false bravado and rambling introspection, keeping you on edge throughout – a testament to the strength of his performance.

The play’s a three-hour marathon, including a 20-minute interval, but it’s worth the effort. As one young audience member at my performance observed with wonder: “There’s no prize or consolation at the end.”

He’s right. This isn’t the frothy, song-and-dance musical wrapped in a pretty bow that usually draws attention in Adelaide. But it is the kind of production that will stay with you long after LaPaglia has boarded his flight back to LA.

Death of a Salesman is showing at the Festival Theatre until 4 October 2026.

Fun facts from Death of a Salesman

• Anthony LaPaglia worked as a salesman for Florsheim Shoes in Adelaide in the early 1980s. He later transferred to the US with the company while pursuing his acting career.
• The production’s Adelaide season marks the final leg of its Australian tour.

Please note: The play is recommended for ages 15+. It contains haze, as well as themes of death, dying and suicide.

See our Top Parks & Playgrounds Around Adelaide

For more information and all enquiries, please visit the Adelaide Festival Centre website.

All photos by Carla Caruso for Play & Go Adelaide.

At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.

As per all our Play & Go reviews, this is not a sponsored post and our review is done completely independently. All photos are by Play & Go (unless specified).

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