The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (Penguin Plays)
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The Ride Down Mt. Morgan (Penguin Plays) Details
A car wreck on the slopes of Mt. Morgan puts poet and insurance tycoon Lyman Felt in the hospital. While Lyman recovers, two women meet in the hospital to discover that they are both married to him. With his secrets exposed, Lyman tries to justify himself to the two women--the prim, cultured Theo and the restless, ambitious Leah--at the same time hoping to convince himself that he is blameless. Moving between broad farce and delicate tragedy, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan reveals the struggle between honesty with others and honesty with oneself. This new edition incorporates the revisions Miller wrote for the acclaimed 1998 Public Theatre production starring Patrick Stewart.
Reviews
In a number of ways, "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan" parallels "Death of a Salesman". Both plays include a man searching for something in the present with flashblacks spliced into the scenes. The greatest difference between the plays is that many people can identify with Willy Loman from "Death of a Salesman. It is harder to identify with Lyman Felt and his bigamy.Lyman wants to find happiness and discover himself. After one successful marriage, he begins an affair that leads to a pregnancy. Rather than taking a more logical route, Lyman chooses to marry a second wife. He leads the second wife to believe that he divorced the first wife. Nine years later, a car accident on Mt. Morgan leads the two wives to meet at the hospital. It is there that Lyman explores his motivation for bigamy and the guilt for the pain he has caused. Ultimately, Lyman discovers his true self in loneliness. He is left to himself and the mess he created."The Ride Down Mt. Morgan" seems a bizarre premise for Miller to explore. The reader must wonder if bigamy is a more narrow divorce for Miller to explore extra-marrital affairs. While this aspect of the storyline seems distant, it is hard not to feel the emotion in this tale of love lost.