A View from the Bridge Reviews

Stage and Cinema- Highly Recommended

"...Ruskin Group Theatre's season-opener, a landmark drama from 1955, exploded into relevance last Friday night. A rarity worth a return, Arthur Miller's drama of an inevitable domestic tragedy focuses on the family and the neighborhood in which they live. The strengths are compassion for the characters; a plot that's both relentless and timeless; and the heartfelt truth that all sins are social. With Paul Ruddy's impeccable casting, the small stage fills to bursting with a plot where every achingly unavoidable twist seems foretold."

LA Splash- Highly Recommended

"...A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE is a must-see production for Arthur Miller fans – but it is more than that. It is a powerful and moving story about complicated people in a complex world. This is a tale of human nature facing impossible choices, but it is also about families and love (filial and carnal) and people trying to build a better life in a new world. Over the past 70 years, A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE has received multiple accolades, including Tony Awards, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle, and Olivier Award – but its primary award may be Miller’s ability to touch the hearts of audiences. It helps that this is also a five star production which shouldn’t be missed."

Stage Scene LA- Highly Recommended

"...Arthur Miller and Santa Monica’s Ruskin Group Theatre once again prove a match made in heaven with A View From The Bridge, magnificently performed in an intimate staging that turns every single audience member into a fly on the wall of this gritty Greek tragedy set on the waterfront of 1950s Brooklyn."

Showmag- Highly Recommended

"...This is an exceptional, if harrowing, production of a long-ago story of mythic proportions exemplified by the presence of a “Chorus,” (narrator/attorney Alfieri (Sal Viscuso) and brought to life under the careful guidance of producers John Ruskin and Michael Myers. Bravo."

Stage Raw- Highly Recommended

"...Abruzzo's Eddie and Chase's Beatrice make for a poignant couple, facing emotions they have long concealed and getting tangled up as they try to convey them. Abruzzo is a quintessential Eddie, whose lament of "I want my respect," has a special meaning coming from a working stiff who feels his goodwill is being abused. Chase emotes, with eyes and facial expressions, the wearied love of many a put-upon spouse. Leonard is a fragile Catherine, initially puzzled by Eddie's strange actions towards her but eventually discovering the strength to confront them."

Peoples World- Highly Recommended

"...Ray Abruzzo leads a cast in one of the best-acted dramas I’ve seen in the theater in many moons. Abruzzo portrays Eddie Carbone, who is, along with Salesman’s Willie Loman and The Crucible’s John Proctor, one of Miller’s most memorable, indelible protagonists, and Abruzzo does justice to the role he incarnates. Set in gritty, working class post-WWII New York City, Carbone is a longshoreman in Red Hook, a (then) Italian-American neighborhood near the Brooklyn Bridge."

Glamgical- Highly Recommended

"...Mike Reilly pays attention to fine details to make this production a memorable staging of such an iconic play. The blocking divides the stage in two sections, the family’s house in one and the streets and Alfieri’s office in the other, making the scenic design and the lighting more versatile. Four creative elements contribute to immerse the audience into the story."

The Hollywood Times- Highly Recommended

"...This was opening weekend of a production of Arthur Miller’s A View from the Bridge staged by the Ruskin Group Theatre Company in their small theatre in Santa Monica. This well-known play was originally written as a one-act verse drama and staged on Broadway in 1955 but Miller subsequently extended the play to contain two acts, and this is the version that was staged at the Ruskin Group Theatre under the direction of Mike Reilly."