Dave Beeves is a lucky man: his childhood sweetheart is now his bride; his auto repair shop is a success owing to an experienced mechanic walking into his shop at exactly the right time; he has a happy, healthy son and; he has just started out on a new venture in setting up a mink farm. But, as he is witness to everyday, not everybody has their dreams come true, despite their hard work and efforts; and even more bizarrely, their bad luck seems to be the currency of his own good fortune. Surely, this karmic debt will need to be paid, right? As Dave continues to gamble with his luck as his ante and, his family, friends and money as his collateral, there is excruciating tension as he "let's it all ride" on a major investment.

The Man Who Had All the Luck takes place in prewar America, at the edge of The Depression which made of mockery of the hard work ethic and, aggrandized "luck" as the only star of destiny/harbinger of fate that a man could comprehend. This is a subtle but constant theme which runs through many of Miller's works: The unfairness of life.

There is an interview with the director included with the audio in which Michael Hackett expounds on the major themes of Miller's plays, many of which are set forth in this early work, including but not limited to the rhetorical style, the Greek chorus element and, the father-son relationship. While the interview is interesting and educational, it creates an overall didactic feel to the play as a whole (versus a visceral experience) and, for the Miller novice, may qualify the experience as well. When looking at parsing out the play's structure and meaning, there is a tendency to only refer back to what the director has highlighted and, intellectualize the drama.

The performances were all fairly even, though not particularly remarkable. This play is not often performed however, so there is no large legacy of interpretation to either inherit or fight through, and overall it is a solid presentation.

Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, The Man Who Had All the Luck; 04/24/2012 ( )