Sad Loss

I am sometimes very effected by the passing of people I've never met. In the past I have felt a robbed when the frailties of being made of flesh and blood have stolen away profound contributors to our culture. People not only with tremendous achievement and fame, but that have also put heart and soul into the human experience. These have included Dr. Seuss, Charles Shultz, Norman Rockwell, Mother Teresa, Lady Diana, playwright Samuel Becket, Gregory Hines, Fred Rogers, and for me most notably, profoundly and untimely, Jim Henson.

Today marks another passing that I feel creates a void that will not be filled, as playwright Arthur Miller is no longer with us. I have always felt like his plays were not only great works, but important because of the way that they capture a vision of modern America that has the feeling of both loving correction and sage warning. There is a lot of good theater going on, but I haven't seen anything that has the mythic scope that his plays could carry. They were a specific story of specific people, and at the same time allegories of the everyman that people could identify with across the years and across cultures.

He leaves a profound legacy of work, and will be missed.


(If anyone knows any playwrights currently creating works that carry the weight of Miller, please let me know---and Sam Sheppard doesn't count).