Milton Teens Perform in Arthur Millerʼs 'All My Sons'

The Boston teen premier of Arthur Millerʼs Tony and Drama Desk award-winning classic All My Sons is being produced this August by the Boston Teen Acting Troupe and includes several teens from Milton.

The Milton residents performing are Jack Serio, Ritchie Sullivan, Catherine Spino, Julia Budde, Amelia McLaughlin, Griffin McLaughlin, Liz Stanfield, and Garrett Sager. 

All My Sons will run from Aug. 15 through 17 in the intimate Boston Center for The Arts Plaza Black Box Theatre. This will be the first professional production produced, directed, designed and performed by teenagers in Boston.

Under the direction of three-time Massachusetts Educational Theatre Guild Award winner, Jack Serio, the completely teenaged cast of Kevin Paquette (Joe Keller), Catherine Spino (Kate Keller), Evan Grande (Chris Keller), Emily White (Ann Deever), Kevin Koulopoulos (George Deever), Dustin Kenyon (Dr. Jim Bayliss), Amelia McLaughlin (Sue Bayliss), Angelo Denofrio (Frank Lubey), Julia Budde (Lydia Lubey) and Garrett Sager (Bert) perform in Millerʼs first commercial success, hailed as “an honest and forceful drama” by The New York Times.

The production team includes Jack Serio (Artistic Director & Scenic Designer), Ritchie Sullivan (Managing Director), Alex Aroyan (Stage Manager/Asst. Director), David Gentile (Lighting Design), Jay Rico (Sound Design) and Julia Budde (Costume, Hair & Makeup Design). 

Joe Keller strives for the American Dream, but two years after WWII's end, his family still suffers from its aftershocks. When Chris, the elder son, announces his plan to marry his still missing-in-action brother's fiancé, a mother must confront her denial, a son his father's fallibility, and a father his true responsibilities.

The confrontations that ensue lead to the uncovering of a shameful family secret. Provocative and heart-breaking, All My Sons is a compelling story of love, guilt and the corrupting power of greed.

The inspiration for the play came from a wartime anecdote Miller heard about a woman who had turned in her father for delivering defective equipment to the U.S. military. From this Miller shaped a drama not about war, but about a topic he knew better: money. 

All My Sons opened on Broadway in January, 1947 and ran for a staggering 328 performances. Directed by Elia Kazan, to whom it is dedicated, it received the two most prestigious awards in theatre, the Tony Award for Best Authored Play and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, famously beating Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. It starred Ed Begley, Beth Miller, Arthur Kennedy, and Karl Malden.

The criticism of the American Dream, which lies at the heart of All My Sons, was the main reason why Arthur Miller was called to appear before the House Un-American Activities Committee during the 1950s, when America was gripped by anti-communist hysteria.

Miller sent a copy of the play to Kazan, a former member of the Communist Party who shared Miller's left-wing views. However, their relationship was destroyed forever when Kazan, notoriously and unapologetically, later 'named names' of suspected Communists to the House UnAmerican Activities Committee.

The Boston Teen Acting Troupe was founded in January of 2011 with the goal of bringing enriching, engaging and edgy theatre to teens, as well as providing an outlet for Boston teenagers who are serious about their craft, whether that is acting, directing or design. The Boston Teen Acting Troupeʼs goal is to eliminate the cliché of “bad high school theater” by producing challenging plays not normally seen portrayed by young actors.

Since 2011, The Boston Teen Acting Troupe has produced eight completely teen run shows in a variety of Boston and Cambridge theaters. Coverage in The New York Times and on National Public Radio have created a fan following for the fledgling theatre group.

All My Sons runs Thursday, Aug. 15 - Saturday Aug. 17 at The Boston Center for The Artʼs Plaza Black Box Theatre, located at 527 Tremont St in Bostonʼs South End. For tickets at times visit www.bostonteenactingtroupe.com.

–Boston Teen Acting Troupe