Movie in which kids perform Death of a Salesman?
May 19, 2018 9:24 PM Subscribe
We're stumped.
Just a scene in the movie, not a whole production.
Just a scene in the movie, not a whole production.
Response by poster: Take for the suggestion, but the group says no, it's not just a monolog. Someone new to the conversation says the kids are in oversized suits and old-age makeup.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 9:53 PM on May 19, 2018
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 9:53 PM on May 19, 2018
I haven't seen either of these, so don't know if kids are involved, but the Wiki page for DoaS mentions that the play appears in Synecdoche, New York (2008), and The Salesman (2016).
posted by quinndexter at 10:02 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by quinndexter at 10:02 PM on May 19, 2018 [2 favorites]
It sounds like something Wes Anderson would do... was this in Rushmore?
posted by fiercekitten at 10:16 PM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by fiercekitten at 10:16 PM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
I doubt this is it, but there was a Buffy dream ep where ostensibly, they're putting on the play, but it's not real and there are no oversized suits/age make-up. And it's not a movie. And calling 16-yo's kids is probably a stretch.
But memory is a funny thing, so I figured I might as well suggest it.
posted by greermahoney at 10:18 PM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
But memory is a funny thing, so I figured I might as well suggest it.
posted by greermahoney at 10:18 PM on May 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
I can't place it exactly, but it sounds like wierd late 1970s TV comedy, possibly early SNL?
posted by ovvl at 10:34 PM on May 19, 2018
posted by ovvl at 10:34 PM on May 19, 2018
I think Synecdoche is the right answer. In the movie, the “kid version” of Salesman is what gives the director the ability to start the project.
posted by kerf at 11:03 PM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by kerf at 11:03 PM on May 19, 2018 [3 favorites]
I thought I knew this one but realized I was thinking of the Scarface school play (not a real school play). Findable on YouTube. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uovMpapeCJQ
posted by Sassyfras at 7:53 AM on May 20, 2018
posted by Sassyfras at 7:53 AM on May 20, 2018
Best answer: This has been a fun rabbit hole. I started with "New Warden" from Arrested Development, then I found an AV Club article about Albert Brooks doing this for SNL:
"Though the six Brooks short films scattered throughout SNL’s first season felt shoehorned into the show’s live-sketch concept, they’re all brilliantly funny, from a cutting parody of inane TV formulas and gimmicks (Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman, performed entirely by children!) to a short about Brooks being too ill to turn in a short."
I could not find any video.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 8:07 AM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
"Though the six Brooks short films scattered throughout SNL’s first season felt shoehorned into the show’s live-sketch concept, they’re all brilliantly funny, from a cutting parody of inane TV formulas and gimmicks (Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman, performed entirely by children!) to a short about Brooks being too ill to turn in a short."
I could not find any video.
posted by yes I said yes I will Yes at 8:07 AM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]
Best answer: from a cutting parody of inane TV formulas and gimmicks (Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman, performed entirely by children!)
Season 1, Episode 4,
The Death of a Salesman bit is a short riff towards the end. From this transcript:
Season 1, Episode 4,
NBC Super Season.
Albert Brooks gives us a look at some mid-season replacement shows waiting to be broadcast on NBC.
The Death of a Salesman bit is a short riff towards the end. From this transcript:
Announcer: Specials, the likes of which you've never seen! Specials, likeposted by zamboni at 1:59 PM on May 20, 2018 [4 favorites]Tuesday Night Nightclub! Every random Tuesday, NBC takes you to a world-famous cabaret, to present the finest in underground entertainment!
[While the mime keeps bowing to applause, the scene is washed off to the left third of the screen. On the right two-thirds, a young boy and girl are seen talking to each other in a living room.]
Announcer: And: a new production of Arthur Miller'sDeath of a Salesman! Totally acted by children!
[CUT to a closeup of the girl, who wears a gray wig and sweater.]
Girl: Do you have your glasses?
Boy: [in oversized white suit] Yeah, I got my glasses.
Girl: And your sack ring?
Boy: And my sack ring. Goodbye, I'm ready.
[The scene is washed into the middle third of the screen. On the far right is a detail from an oil painting of Revolutionary War soldiers.]
Announcer: Also, a series of Bicentennial programs: guaranteed to make you feel two hundred years old!
Response by poster: Thanks! So after swearing it was a movie, one of our participants checked here and realized it was, in fact, the Albert Brooks SNL sketch. I had initially thought it sounded like a Wes Anderson thing, and that Synecdoche, New York suggestion sounded like a winner, but that turned out not to be it.
Bonus trivia - did you know that Albert Brooks and Super Dave Osborne are brothers?
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 7:32 PM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
Bonus trivia - did you know that Albert Brooks and Super Dave Osborne are brothers?
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 7:32 PM on May 20, 2018 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by the webmistress at 9:30 PM on May 19, 2018