David Beeves is a small-town Midas, a truly lucky man. When he wants to marry his childhood sweetheart, Hester, the only thing standing in his way is her father. But Dad conveniently gets run over, leaving his daughter a 110-acre farm. Then Beeves, a gifted mechanic, has the chance to further his career by fixing the car of a local bigwig. He works all night on the vehicle in vain, but as dawn breaks a stranger walks into the garage and immediately solves the problem. It is like being visited by a guardian angel.
Beeves's golden touch does not desert him. While his brother Amos - always their father's chosen one, trained since a boy to be a big league baseball pitcher - languishes, Beeves gets richer and more successful. No sooner does he buy a rundown gas station than the local authority decides to build a major highway right past it.
But the luckier he becomes, the more distrustful he is of his success. He begins to see his luck as a curse, and expects to pay the price imminently. Both his marriage and his sanity are put in jeopardy.
This was Arthur Miller's first Broadway play and its closure after just four performances almost led Miller to turn his back on the theatre for ever. Instead he went on to write All My Sons and Death of a Salesman, for which this play was clearly a model.
It has Miller hallmarks but none of the clarity that you associate with the great American dramatist. There is a fuzziness about the play, as if even Miller himself isn't sure what it's about and how far luck, fate and hard work play their part in all our lives. The plotting also feels contrived. The overall effect is like seeing a pale imitation of a Miller play rather than the real thing.
A less than brilliant Miller play is still a pretty fine thing, however, and lack of familiarity adds to the enjoyment. David Hunt's production keeps you wanting to know what will happen, and some great moments include the scene in which Amos's hopes of becoming a professional baseball player are crushed as he discovers that the father who nurtured him has also inadvertedly crippled him.
Hunt goes some way towards removing the play from the realm of naturalism, but he could be braver. Like the play, some of the performances need a sharper focus. But this forgotten drama is more than a mere curiosity, and although it may not count among Miller's finest, its freshness counts in its favour.
Until February 24. Box office: 0114-249 6000.
