The Rep’s World Premiere of ‘Wife of a Salesman’

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Image: Milwaukee Rep

‘Wife of a Salesman’ - Milwaukee Rep

While there are many “titanic” shows at the Milwaukee Repertory Theater this season, patrons shouldn’t overlook the Wife of a Salesman by Eleanor Burgess, taking place in the Steimke Studio from Sept. 27 to Nov. 6. Wife of a Salesman is a co-world premiere with Chicago’s Writer’s Theatre, a co-commission with workshops leading up this production. A decidedly feminist take on the Arthur Miller play of a similar name, Wife of a Salesman examines the parallel relationship shared by a wife and a mistress, as well as the influence an antihero like Willy Loman would have had on these women back in the 1950s. The play dramatizes the event of the two women meeting face to face for the first time.

Plays written in the 1950s tend to portray the patriarchy and the roles of men and women through the lens of those times. Playwright Burgess’ approach allows space for our modern mores to recognize that while there has been progress, in many ways there is still a lot of work to be done. Wisconsin native, Heidi Armbruster, who has been cast as The Wife, says she, “loves the thought experiment of what happens when you really interrogate the POV of the patriarchy that these mid-century writers couldn’t help but be a part of and asks is there space for a deconstruction of female archetypes within that world?”

Today, no one really believes in that idealized version of marriage Americans were spoon-fed in the days of “Leave it to Beaver.” Yet, there are certain vestiges of those times that linger on in our collective consciousness. The Wife isn’t perfect, but she thinks she has to be. Just as the Mistress isn’t wicked, but every wife would believe she is. Throughout the play their roles alter and expand. Armbuster suggests, “The play is a boxing match between these two women that starts to shift into a kind of dance.” As the two begin to learn more about each other and the roles they play in the life of “the salesman” a tenuous friendship of sorts begins to form as each encourages the other to aspire for a better life. Or, perhaps it’s just a ploy to drive each other away from continuing as Wife or Mistress. Audiences will, no doubt, enjoy the twists and turns of the story and the evolving relationship of these women.

The thoughtful insights of the wife and the mistress will likely ring true for most women in the audience and could serve as great conversation starters for couples after the performance. Armbruster hopes that the audience will, “laugh together at the people on stage and the ridiculous things they do, because the play is quite funny. And then [after the performance], have surprising conversations about the American Dream, the patriarchy, and how women’s lives have changed—or not—since our mothers and grandmothers were in their 30s and 40s.”