Blowup in a Powder Keg: 'A View from the Bridge'

LIKE A MAN WHO can get his own dang beer and doesn't think the floor is an extension of the clothes hamper, good, razzle dazzle-free theater can be hard to find.

Fortunately, Arena Stage's current production of Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge" is proof that there's still some solid theater left out there — and without even one dance number or first-act, curtain-closing tune.

Set in a tight-knit, working-class Italian community in Brooklyn in the 1950s, the play tells the story of longshoreman Eddie Carbone's (Delaney Williams) unhealthy obsession with his orphaned niece Catherine's (Virginia Kull) transition into womanhood.

It's Eddie's wife, Beatrice (Naomi Jacobson), who, as his light for her dims, recognizes his flaming feelings for his niece — feelings Eddie keeps at bay until Beatrice's cousins come to stow away as illegal immigrants in their home.

Catherine falls in love and agrees to marry one of the cousins, which causes Eddie's suppressed emotions to surface. Suddenly, he's throwing himself on Catherine and calling la migra on the cousins.

Playing in repertory with the much more famous "Death of a Salesman" as part of Arena's Arthur Miller Festival, "A View From the Bridge" stands out, thanks to the superb acting of the entire cast, particularly Williams as Carbone. But be forewarned: If a tidy, happy resolution is what you're after in your night at the theater, prepare to come home depressed.

» Arena Stage at Crystal City, 1800 S. Bell St., Arlington; through May 18; $53-$68; 202-488-3300.

Photo by Scott Suchman/Arena Stage