Death of a Salesman returning to Broadway?

Philip Seymour Hoffman	Mike Nichols

Michael Riedel of the New York Post reports that 8 times Tony-winning Director Mike Nichols and Bafta and Academy Awards-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman are planning on bringing a revival of Arthur Miller's classic Tony and Pulitzer Prize winning drama, A Death of a Saleman, to Broadway in 2011.

Hoffman, who at 43 may be considered a little young for the part, is to play 62 year old "Willy Loman" - the salesman who daydreams of success, while having to live with disapointing sales and the growing fear that his life is a failure.

According to Riedel, Nichols and Hoffman would like Linda Emond (Tony nominee - Life x 3) to play the role of Will's long-suffering wife, 'Linda.' There has been no official confirmation.

A Death of a Saleman: Set in 1940s New York, it is the story of Willy Loman, an ageing salesman whose grasp on the reality of his life is slipping away. Through the drama of his family quarrels, replayed in his head, we see the ways in which the flaws of one generation are imprinted on the next. The play had its Broadway premiere in 1949 and has been revived on Broadway four times. The original production won the Tony Award for Best Play, and and two of the later productions won Toy Awards for Best revival.

The last time A Death of a Saleman was performed on Broadway was in 1999. It starred Brian Dennehy as 'Willy Loman' and Elizabeth Franz as his wife 'Linda,' with direction by Robert Falls. That production won a Tony Award for Best Revival and also earned the director and both lead actors Tony Awards.