A C e n t u ry o f L e g acy
Rebecca Miller is a writer
and director whose work
includes such films as the
critically-acclaimed
The Ballad of Jack and
Rose and The Private
Lives of Pippa Lee –
the latter of which she
adapted from her novel
of the same name – and
the recent Maggie’s Plan
that, as of press time, was
about to be screened at
the New York Film Festival.
In addition to her work as
a filmmaker, Miller is also
the guardian of her father
Arthur Miller’s extensive
body of work, overseeing
new productions both in
the U.S. and abroad.
As rehearsals began for
Incident at Vichy, Miller
spoke with Signature
Associate Artistic Director
Beth Whitaker about the
play and her father’s continued relevance as a writer.
Signature: What do you look for in a new
production of Miller’s work?
Rebecca Miller: I say “no” unless I have a compelling reason to say “yes.” In the case of Incident at
Vichy, it was a play that I really wanted to have
done – it hadn’t been done in a long time and I
was looking to have it done. Also, Jim Houghton
is a longtime ally of my father’s and I admire his
work at Signature and so I trusted his choice of
a director. Once I okay a situation and a director,
it’s very unusual for me to say “no” to something
about casting unless there is something really
wrong that is being brought up, and usually
that’s for pragmatic reasons – somebody’s being
chosen more for their potential value rather than
that they are really right for a part. But, generally
I really trust the director that’s been chosen to
cast the play. Like when Mike Nichols wanted to
do Salesman with Philip Seymour Hoffman, that
was obviously really an event – something that
would frame a play in a positive way. I don’t want
to cheapen the plays by having them go on too
often. No one can second guess how a play is
going to do and how many people are going to
see it, or if it’s even going to be successful in its
own right. But what you can do is say that there
isn’t a compelling reason for this play to be going
on unless it’s a compelling combination of director
and actors. Or that the play really hasn’t been seen
for a long time and that you’d like to refresh the
audience’s experience or knowledge of the play.
S: What inspired Miller to write Incident at Vichy?
RM: He was grappling with what had happened
with the second World War, these questions
about genocide and about getting into the
humanity of individuals and ethical dilemmas.
[Miller was] taking it away from a kind of broad,
faceless phenomenon and getting down to a
really ground level of people’s ethical dilemmas.
One moment – a microscope on something that
was overwhelming.
S: What does it mean to be doing Incident at
Vichy in the current state of the world?
RM: I think that this is a moment where we have
to say, “How do we hold on to our humanity? When are we devolving into chaos?
What are the earmarks of civilization? How
do we cling to it, remain civilized? What do
we decide to stand up to, and stand up for?”
It’s a confusing moment, and I think that the
play has a lot of relevance because it’s both
ethically motivated but also because it’s so
personally interesting. It’s a fascinating play
about human dynamics, about moment-tomoment, how human beings are behaving
toward each other. How do people b etray
each other, how do people stand strong?
How is character destiny? Is character destiny? What part does character have to play
in destiny? Those are all questions that the
play brings up, but what’s interesting about
it isn’t so much that it’s a big idea-play, but
I think it puts a magnifying glass on one
room in a very, very big situation. And that’s
what makes the play great.
S: What sticks with you about the 1997-98
Arthur Miller season at Signature?
RM: I remember going to The American
Clock with him at Signature and being so
blown away by it and how surprising and
fresh that play was. I know that he loved
working with Jim and he really liked him as
a person a great deal. It meant a lot to him
at that moment to have these plays put on.
S: As the Centennial of Miller’s birth
approaches, what are you looking
forward to as several new productions
of his work open in New York?
RM: I’m always interested in framing his
work in new ways which make people see
plays again in perhaps a fresh way. A View
from the Bridge, that Ivo von Hove has put
together, is very fresh and exciting and,
I think, a visceral production. I’m very much
looking forward to seeing what The Crucible
is – it’s got wonderfully open casting and
we’re kind of breaking the mold there. Incident at Vichy will be very exciting because I
think that that’s a play that a lot of
people don’t know, and I think it’ll be
exciting to peer into some of the lesserknown plays – the challenge is to give them
what they deserve, too, and make sure that
they are well-represented. I’m hoping that
it’s a moment where his eternal relevance
is appreciated – I think that’s what the
challenge is, always, to keep reminding the
audience of how relevant he remains.
S: Amongst Miller’s plays that are
lesser-known, do you have favorites
that you would advocate for?
RM: The American Clock. I could definitely
see that coming down the pike, I would love
to see that done again. Maybe, eventually,
Resurrection Blues. Some of his later plays
are tricky because they need a kind of direction that is very imaginative – they’re not
realistic plays as much as his other plays.
I sort of think that what’s so remarkable
about him. As Edward Albee said at his
funeral, he became younger and younger as
a playwright. He never let go of the idea of
experimentation. Salesman was an experiment; all of his plays are experiments. Some
of them worked better than others in the
marketplace, but they all are really searching
and trying to push the form. And this play
that you’re doing is no exception. n
I remember going
to The American
Clock with him
at Signature and
being so blown
away by it and
how surprising
and fresh that
play was.
(left to right) Kate Myre and Kevin Conroy in The Last Yankee at Signature
Theatre, 1998; Rebecca Schull and Joseph Wiseman in I Can’t Remember
Anything at Signature Theatre, 1998; Chris Messina, Mary Catherine Wright,
and Isiah Whitlock Jr. in The American Clock at Signature Theatre, 1998.
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