A pair of Tony-winning stage legends will return to Broadway this spring in a great American classic. Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf will star in a new production of Arthur Miller’s 1949 play “Death of a Salesman.” Joe Mantello will direct the production, which will begin previews on March 6, 2026 and officially open on April 9 at the Winter Garden Theatre. Lane and Metcalf are reuniting after previously shared the stage in David Mamet’s 2008 play, “November,” also directed by Mantello.
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Famously described by critic Kenneth Tynan as “the greatest American play,” Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” has been an essential part of our national consciousness since its Broadway debut in 1949, and throughout every subsequent era. The original production, directed by Elia Kazan and starring Lee J. Cobb, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Tony Award for Best Play and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award.
The story concerns Willy Loman, an aging traveling salesman coming to terms with the emptiness of his life. Willy had great dreams for his oldest son, Biff, a former high school football star who has not lived up to his father’s expectations. Metcalf will play Willy’s steadfast wife, Linda. The cast will also feature Christopher Abbott and Ben Ahlers as Willy and Linda’s sons, Biff and Happy.
Lane is a three-time Tony winner for his turns in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “The Producers” and “Angels in America.” His Broadway credits also include Tony-nominated performances in “Guys and Dolls,” “The Nance” and “The Front Page.” His TV work has netted him six Emmy nominations. Metcalf, who is currently starring on Broadway in Samuel D. Hunter’s “Little Bear Ridge Road” on Broadway, won Tony Awards for her performances in “A Doll’s House, Part 2” and “Three Tall Women.” She has also been Tony-nominated for her work in the aformentioned “November,” as well as “The Other Place,” “Misery” and “Hillary and Clinton.” She has won three Emmys for TV’s “Roseanne” and earned an Academy Award nomination for “Lady Bird.”
Abbott made his Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of John Guare’s “The House of Blue Leaves.” He starred in the off-Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley’s play “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea” with Aubrey Plaza in 2023 and has also appeared off-Broadway in Annie Baker’s “John” and Lucy Thurber’s “Where We’re Born.” His many screen credits include “Poor Things,” “Wolf Man,” the upcoming linited series “East of Eden” and “Girls.” Ahlers will make his Broadway debut in “Death of a Salesman.” His screen credits include “The Gilded Age” and “The Last of Us,” both on HBO.
This production of “Death of a Salesman” will mark the play’s seventh Broadway staging. The most recent revival was in 2022 and starred Wendell Pierce and Sharon D Clarke.
This article previously appeared on Broadway.com.
