Come closer. 

A little bit closer.

Now you have some idea how close I was leaning forward in my seat, entangled in the rising and palpable tension in Lyric Stage’s All My Sons.

Having never witnessed any iteration of All My Sons before watching Lyric Stage’s gripping production, it was immediately clear why Arthur Miller’s multilayered Post World War II tale is a classic brimming with universal truths. Having recently witnessed the dated 1948 film of the same name, it also became clear to me that Lyric Stage’s All My Sons is so jaw droppingly good, I would gladly see it again.

Directed meticulously by Scott Edminston, Lyric Stage Boston has extended Arthur Miller’s drama All My Sons live and in person at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, October 25. This excellent production runs two hours and 20 minutes with a 15-minute intermission. Click here for more information and for tickets.

At one time in history, everyone knew their neighbors. They stopped by unannounced. They watched over each other’s children. They bonded like family. They shared their stories, dreams, and hardships…even if relationships became strained.

Scenic designer Janie E. Howland produces an ideal and picturesque 1940s suburban setting at the Keller household with a wraparound porch and white picket fence, surrounding terrace, window garden and cushioned porch swing. Fallen leaves surround the house and the finer details in Karen Perlow’s moody and suspenseful lighting offers glimpses of a tree’s reflection off the second floor window. Taffeta, chiffon, silks, and floral patterns accented with a string of pearls, plaids and distinct 40s patterns shape Chelsea Kerl’s nostalgic costumes. Oleg Smirnov delivers a contemplative and soothing guitar-tinged sound design as secrets and revelations gradually come to light.

Taking place approximately over a 24-hour period in 1947, Mark Sousa as Chris Keller approaches Bill Mootos as his father Joe, to reveal Chris is hopelessly in love with Josephine Moshiri Elwood as Annie. Annie is not only a childhood neighbor Chris grew up with, but his brother, Larry’s girlfriend who has been reportedly missing in action for three years. As Chris attempts to convince his father to let Larry go, Larry’s memorial tree had fallen the night before and Laura Marie Duncan as Chris’s mother Kate insists that it is a sure sign that Larry is still alive.

Not only does this entire cast exude a natural and familial rapport, but each character leaves a lasting impression. Neighbors come by unannounced and visit with a natural affinity for one another. Mootos delivers a remarkable and multilayered performance as Joe who seamlessly fluctuates between charming and a seemingly easygoing neighbor and family patriarch torn between the happiness of one son and the hope that the other will return and a cagey and ambitious businessman recently exonerated for a crime he may or may not have committed.

Sousa is remarkably well cast not only in his tenacious performance as Chris, but his resemblance to Mootos.  Their tense familial chemistry makes it easy to see them as father and son. 

Elwood’s Annie is warm, pleasant and cheerful, but Elwood genuinely shines evoking Annie’s lurking anguish caught in the middle of a family she grew up with. She shares some particularly memorable scenes with Laura Marie Duncan as complicated Kate and Allison Beauregard makes a lasting impression as Sue in a brief yet pivotal scene with Elwood.

Laura Marie Duncan is enthralling as Chris’s mother and gifted homemaker Kate Keller who is incredibly skilled at taking characters under her wing and charismatically making them feel at home. Warm, energetic yet distraught over her missing son, she fusses, but yet there is something more. Duncan is exquisite, especially in a pivotal scene with Quinton Kappel who makes an impact as a seething and determined George. Nurturing and influential, Duncan as Kate expertly disarms George with careful words and an easy embrace. It is a wonder to witness.

All My Sons is a multilayered and mysterious tale that contains timeless and complex reflections in a post World War II world, the longing for normalcy, grief and complicated relationships and family conflict. It also boasts humor, an amazing cast, rich characters, gripping scenes and mounting tension that rise to an unpredictable conclusion. It is a show that stayed with me long after the production was over.

Lyric Stage Boston has extended Arthur Miller’s All My Sons live and in person at Lyric Stage Company in Boston, Massachusetts through Sunday, October 25.  Click here for more information and for tickets.