On September 17, 1997, I interviewed Arthur Miller in his East Side, New York City apartment. If Salesman remains the flagship of his great career, a score of other dramatic pieces continue to link 'a long and undying past' to the present moment of the contemporary stage.

In high schools and colleges, in small towns and large cities all over the world, people are discovering daily the power of Arthur Miller's plays. This is only the tip of the iceberg, however. The enthusiasm of these young directors, all in their thirties, contributed, in part, to the success of these productions. Meanwhile a revival of A View from the Bridge at the Roundabout Theater Company, directed by Michael Mayer, introduced this play to a new generation of viewers. Peters' Connections (directed by Garry Hynes). In October of 1997, the Signature Theatre Company in New York opened its season with The American Clock (directed by James Houghton) and concluded a year of Miller plays with a new work, Mr. During the summer of 1997, the Williamstown Theater Festival staged All My Sons (directed by Barry Edelstein) and The Ride Down Mount Morgan (directed by Scott Elliott) shortly thereafter these productions moved to New York City. One thinks of the Roundabout Theater's 1992 revival of The Price, the National Actors Theater's production of The Crucible, the 1994 Olivier Best Play Award for the London production of Broken Glass, and the successful 1996 Nicholas Hytner film version of The Crucible.

It is hoped that the aura of Salesman in its 50th year enhances and does not erase the accomplishments of Arthur Miller during the last decade, when new plays and revivals have kept his words before audiences around the world. Whatever stirred the spirit in Cobb, he did perform mightily, along with the rest of the cast, and from that night forward audiences and critics have praised the play as precisely that 'continuation of a long and undying past' stretching from the Greek theater to the present day. We thought of ourselves, still, as a kind of continuation of a long and undying past. We sat on either side of him in a box, inviting him, as it were, to drink of the heroism of that music, to fling himself into his role tonight without holding back. We were now aware that Willy's part was among the longest in dramatic literature, and Lee was showing signs of wearying.

1949 play by arthur miller