No, I’m Not Supporting “Death of a Salesman”. Yes, Scott Rudin Is the Reason.

by Chris Peterson

There are plenty of reasons I do not see a Broadway show. Sometimes I am not interested. Sometimes the timing does not work. Sometimes the ticket prices are ridiculous, and I cannot justify them.

And then there are the shows I do not support on principle. That is where Death of a Salesman lands for me.

Let me be clear. This is not about Arthur Miller or Nathan Lane or Laurie Metcalf. It is not even really about the production itself, which I am sure is being performed at an incredibly high level.

This is about Scott Rudin producing it, and I have no interest in participating in his return to Broadway.

Just in case you don’t know, in 2021, multiple reports were published detailing allegations of Rudin’s bullying and abusive workplace behavior toward assistants and staff, allegations that became a major industry reckoning at the time. Rudin ultimately stepped back from all his theatre and film properties.

That did not happen in some distant era of Broadway history. It was five years ago, and I have not seen nearly enough to make me believe this comeback is something I need to welcome or support.

I do not care how good the reviews are or how many standing ovations it gets. I do not care how many people rush to call it essential theatre. That is not enough for me to separate the work from the person helping profit from it.

And what has been especially gross to watch is how quickly so many Broadway sites, theatre influencers, and online personalities have fallen all over themselves to fawn over this production as if none of this history exists.

The tone of some of this coverage has not just been positive. It has been breathless, almost relieved. It feels like the Broadway community was simply waiting for permission to move on and get back to business.

That, to me, is just as revealing as the comeback itself.

Because this is how the theatre industry(and many others) keeps doing this. Not always through loud defense. Not always through some big public statement about redemption, but through coverage that treats a production like an event while quietly stepping around the person behind it, or worse, acting as though his return is no big deal because the cast is strong and the reviews are glowing.

But it is a big deal.

You do not get to build a reputation for abusive behavior, disappear for a few years, and then just stroll back into Broadway because enough time has passed and enough people are willing to pretend they have moved on. That may work for the professional theatre industry. It does not work for me.

I’ve said this before, Broadway does not need Scott Rudin back. There is no shortage of producers or people capable of shepherding major work to the stage without dragging this baggage back in and asking everyone to pretend it is fine now.

So no, I will not be supporting Death of a Salesman. It is not because I do not love theatre. It is because loving this industry sometimes means being honest about what you are no longer willing to excuse.