"A View From the Bridge"

Written by Murphy
Published April 25, 2003

This is another LA Theater Works recorded drama. As far as I know, it hasn't been made into a movie. But it really should be, wow! Arthur Miller knows his stuff.

The story is of a working-class Italian-American family in the 50s. Times are hard for them, and have been for a while. Eddie and Bea have been raising Bea's niece, Katy. Katy is turning into a woman.

It's a struggle for parents to let kids go up. Men especially have a hard time letting little girls grow into women. Some fathers are famously protective. And Eddie gets really protective of Katy.

The narrator of the play is a lawyer, who sees the whole thing play out. He talks about it, like it was a train wreck there was no way to stop.

And I believed it, as I listened to it all.

Bea's cousins from Italy sneak across the ocean to find work. They talk a lot about how hard times are there, that there is no work and that Marco's, the older one, children are starving and dying.

But Rodolpho is not married. He is there to work and does not have scary responsibilities. He is happy to be there, and happy about a lot of things.

He can sing.

How could Katy resist?

And the train wreck is set in motion.

This was an incredible story. It was fully compelling. I wish they would make a movie out of it. I really felt something after it was done, and it stayed with me.

Murphy Horner is a long-time BlogCritic. Murphy’s first book The Parable of Miriam the Camel Driver draws from her experience in corporate America to examine the bigger questions about balancing career and creativity. Murphy Horner has been working as a conferencing technology professional for a decade. Her university alumni association has recognized her as a noted female executive. Currently she is working on a travel memoir and can be found facilitating a writing group in her town of Claremont, Ca.
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"A View From the Bridge"
Published: April 25, 2003
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Section: Books
Writer: Murphy
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#1 — April 25, 2003 @ 16:01PM — Steven

William Bolcom wrote an opera based on this play. I haven't heard it, however. Lyric Opera (in Chicago) did a production of it a couple of years ago.

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