A View from the Bridge

By: Arthur Miller

Narrated by: Mary McDonnell, Harry Hamlin, Amy Pietz, Ed O'Neill, full cast

Length: 1 hr and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Italian-American immigrant life in the 1950’s textures this searing drama of love and revenge. Longshoreman Eddie Carbone is devoted to his wife, Beatrice and to his niece, Catherine. When Beatrice’s impoverished Sicilian cousins enter the U.S. illegally, in hope of finding work, Eddie gives them a helping hand. But when Catherine and one of the cousins fall in love, Eddie’s affection for his niece turns into obsession. 

Includes an interview with acclaimed Broadway director Ethan McSweeny. 

Recorded before a live audience at the DoubleTree Guests Suites, Santa Monica in February 1998. 

Directed by Peter Levin

Producing Director: Susan Albert Loewenberg

An L.A. Theatre Works full-cast performance featuring: 

Charles Cioffi as Alfieri 

Harry Hamlin as Marco 

Jamie Hanes as Rodolpho 

Mary McDonnell as Beatrice 

Peter Morse as Louis and others 

Ed O'Neill as Eddie Carbone 

Amy Pietz as Catherine 

Don Tieri as Mike and others

Technical Director: Raymond Guarna 

Stage Management and Live Sound Effects: Tilo Ponder and Samanatha Bennett.

(P)1998 L.A. Theatre Works

Black Comedy

I am from Kuwait, and I have seen this play during my visit to Boston in 1993, it's been shown in one of the universities stage. I loved it. I bought the book after few years later. When I saw the book here in Audible.com, it was the first book I purchased. The play is great, the act is Marvelous and the sound quality is incredible. I recommend very much to be heard and I am very sure you will enjoy it as much as I did.

Very helpful to me as a student

I had to read this play for school. I usually don't like reading plays because I get the characters mixed up (I'd rather just see the play performed on stage). The actors are really good, and hearing the different voices and accents helped me remember who was who.
This is a recording of an actual performance in front of an audience, so you hear the audience laugh and clap from time to time (I actually caught a couple of jokes I probably would have missed if I were just reading quietly to myself). They stick to the script and it's easy to follow along.
If you're not reading it for school, it's still a really good play. Check it out!

A great performance of a great play.

The play resonated with me on so many levels. Family issues, children and parents, fathers and daughters, immigration, human drama...

LATW once again scores a winner

A View From The Bridge is one of Miller's most admired plays. A tragedy of the commons man it has elements of Tennessee Williams with Eugene O'Neil undertones, but is all Arthur Miller. This slice of life portrait of Brooklyn family oozes with blue collar realism and the tragedy of the everyman. And all of it is brought to life with this brilliant - and surprisingly good - cast. Most of the names in this cast in this production were known to me for other things, but I still had trouble placing them. That is how completely they owned their roles. The 'New Yawk' accents do face in and out but not enough to the performance, and that is my only complaint. A minor one indeed. The LA Theater Workshop has done some marvelous work bringing quality drama to the audio realm but this production really excels. There wasn't a bad moment in the performance and even the live audience added to the experiance. This is a great production of a great play brimming with an energy and emotional impact that will stay with me. Kudos to both the LATW and Audible for making it available.

Great Play

This play was excellent! Very entertaining. I am a huge LA Theatre Works fan and this play most definitely did not disappoint. It ended kind of abruptly but still, very enjoyable!!

Loved it

That was a real treat an I hope I can find more. It seemed so real I didn’t want it to stop.

A wonderful version of a classic

Miller's play is, unfortunately, timeless. The immigration situation keeps repeating over and over, and the story is fantastic, flawless, no doubt about it. This performance was extraordinary! I heard it in one sitting, even though I knew what was going to happen (I've read the play and seen it), I wanted to keep on listening. The acting was great, Ed O'Neil shines with such a strong character, and the whole company is great.

Another Incredible play!

Ed O’Neill was absolutely brilliant in this role. I listened to this without even a pause- I was so enthralled!

All around excellence!

This is one of Miller’s finest. The depth of the character writing, the storyline, the way the play is structured, combined to hold my attention from the first word to the last. Eddie was an unusual psychological mixture and was beautifully played by O’Neil who was pitch perfect. Bravo!

Mesmerizing!

This may be one of the most spellbinding plays I have ever listened to. Miller totally recreates 1950s Brooklyn in an Italian neighborhood. It is a story of obsession and how it leads to inevitable tragedy. Ed O’Neill is masterful as the possessive, controlling Eddie! I may have to listen to it again. Just an astounding piece of theatre. I now want to read everything Arthur Miller has ever written.

Very well acted play, gripping

I only bought this as my daughter is doing the play for her GCSE. I decided to listen to it myself (she refused to!) and I was not expecting to like it, but I got totally drawn into the very well dramatized story, and loved it. Ed O'Neill's voice is infinitely memorable as Al in Married with Children, and he is absolutely brilliant as Eddie, the uncle who is infatuated with his niece.The story is about Italian immigrants in Brooklyn, the sense of community, the ties to Italy, the wrench of a child growing up and leaving home, the financial hardships of that period and the desperation of illegal immigrants who wanted to settle in America . At no point is it boring, there are lots of intertwined story lines. The play is full of funny moments in the first third, drama in the middle part, and .............. in the last third. (I don't want to spoil it for anyone).

fine production

They way they perform with their voices - you can mentally 'see' the production in your head.

Excellent

Ed o Neil (jay pritchard from modern family) is brilliant in this production. Good to be able to get quality theatre productions.

Cracking!!

Brilliant performances. Absolutely love it!!
The way the story builds with Eddie's behaviour becoming more suspect...Great finally.