Salesman之死, Inspired by Arthur Miller Directing in China, Announces All-Female Cast

Yangtze Repertory Theatre, in association with Gung Ho Projects, has announced casting for the world premiere of Salesman之死, a new bilingual play inspired by the true story of Arthur Miller directing Death of a Salesman in China. Written by Jeremy Tiang and directed and developed by Michael Leibenluft, performances will run from October 10-28 at the Connelly Theater, with an official opening set for October 16.

The all-Asian female ensemble will feature Sandia Ang, Sonnie Brown, Claire Hsu, Julia Gu, Lydia Jialu Li, and Jo Mei, each of whom will play across age, ethnicity, nationality, and language.

In the spring of 1983, Arthur Miller accepted an invitation to direct his play Death of a Salesman with an all-Chinese cast at the Beijing People’s Art Theatre despite not speaking a word of Mandarin. Miller detailed the events in his memoir Salesman in Beijing, which has now inspired Salesman之死 (之死, pronounced “zhīsǐ,” means “death of”). The play centers on Shen Huihui, a young university professor, who is summoned to the theater for a special task: to interpret for Arthur Miller, who will soon arrive to direct his iconic play in Mandarin. Meanwhile, the Chinese ensemble, newly out of the Cultural Revolution, has never met “a salesman.”

The creative team for Salesman之死 includes Chika Shimizu (scenic designer), Karen Boyer (costume designer), Daisy Long (lighting designer), Kai-Luen Liang and Da Xu (co-sound designers), Cinthia Chen (projection designer), Kevin Jinghong Zhu (production stage manager), Tianding He (associate director), Annie Jin Wang (dramaturg), Ada Zhang (assistant stage manager), and Yining Cao (producing associate).