Books on Broadway: Death of a Salesman

Take a backstage look at Broadway in the Bryant Park Reading Room, and hear from the cast and crew who make the magic happen.

Don't miss Christopher Abbott (Biff Loman) discussing the Pulitzer Prize® winner for drama, Death of a Salesman, with Ilana Levine, actress and podcaster of Little Known Facts with Ilana Levine.

Christopher Abbott (Biff Loman) will soon be seen starring opposite Florence Pugh in the highly anticipated limited series adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel “East of Eden” for Netflix. He most recently appeared in Mona Fastvold's The Testament of Ann Lee opposite Amanda Seyfried. Abbott also starred in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Oscar-nominated feature Poor Things with Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Mark Ruffalo, Justin Anderson’s film adaptation of Deborah Levy’s Man Booker Prize-nominated novel Swimming Hole alongside Ariane Labed, Mackenzie Davis and Nadine Labaki, and Christopher Andrews’ Bring Them Down opposite Barry Keoghan, which premiered at TIFF in 2024 and sold to MUBI. Other feature credits include Universal’s Wolf Man directed by Leigh Whannell and also featuring Julia Garner, Zachary Wigon’s Sanctuary opposite Margaret Qualley, Jerrod Carmichael’s directorial debut On the Count of Three, John Michael McDonagh’s The Forgiven opposite Ralph Fiennes, Mona Fastvold’s The World To Come with Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby, Brandon Cronenberg’s thriller Possessor opposite Andrea Riseborough, Lawrence Michael Levine’s meta-drama Black Bear with Aubrey Plaza, Damien Chazelle’s First Man, Nicolas Pesce’s Piercing, Jamie Dagg’s Sweet Virginia, Trey Shults’ It Comes At Night, JC Chandor’s A Most Violent Year, Mona Fastvold’s The Sleepwalker and Sean Durkin’s Martha Marcy May Marlene. In 2015, he was named by Variety as one of the “10 Actors to Watch” following his portrayal of the title role in Josh Mond’s award-winning film James White. His performance garnered Abbott Best Actor nominations from both the Independent Spirit and Gotham Awards. In 2023, Christopher starred in the Off-Broadway revival of John Patrick Shanley’s play Danny and the Deep Blue Sea with Aubrey Plaza at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. He made his Broadway debut in John Guare’s The House of Blue Leaves. Other theatrical work includes The Rose Tattoo at The Williamstown Theatre Festival, Lucy Thurber’s Where We’re Born at The Rattlestick Theatre, Annie Baker’s John at The Signature Theatre and Sam Shepard’s Fool For Love at The Williamstown Theatre Festival. Abbott was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the Best Actor category for his lead role in Hulu’s limited series adaptation of Joseph Heller’s classic novel “CATCH-22” directed by George Clooney.
 
Ben Ahlers (Happy Loman) currently appears in the acclaimed HBO series “The Gilded Age,” and was featured in season two of “The Last of Us” on HBO. He will appear opposite John Cena in the upcoming Netflix comedy, “Little Brother.” His other screen credits include “When the Street Lights Go On,” “Instinct,” and “The Village” for NBC. His previous theater credits include Tender Napalm by Philip Ridley, Good Boys by Jane Martin, The Closet by Douglas Carter Beane, and John Wilkes Booth: One Night Only! by Matthew Weiner. Ben is a proud graduate of University of Michigan.