ALL MY SONS/Panic! Productions

 Panic! Productions, Ventura County’s newest theatre company, continues its inaugural season with Arthur Miller’s drama, All My Sons, January 6 through 22, at the Theatre on the Hill/Hillcrest Center for the Arts in Thousand Oaks.

A classic of the American stage, All My Sons was first produced on Broadway in 1947, and established Miller as a major voice in the theatre. This new production, timed to the 65th anniversary of the play’s debut, is directed by Theresa Secor.

Set soon after the Second World War, the play pits family responsibility against the bigger issue of our responsibility to our nation and society. During the war, Joe Keller’s machine shop sent out a batch of faulty cylinder heads to the Army Air Force that caused twenty-one P40 aircraft to crash. Keller did some time in prison, but was ultimately exonerated. His partner and neighbor, Steve Deever, is still in prison for the crime. Now Keller’s son, Chris, wants to marry Deever’s daughter, Ann, but she once was the girlfriend of Chris’s brother, Larry, a pilot who disappeared off the coast of China during the war. Their mother, Kate, refuses to accept that Larry is dead.

As the drama plays out on one August afternoon, the truth about Joe’s culpability is revealed, and Chris must decide what he to do—whether he should turn in his father, and how he can continue on with his life knowing the truth.

Appearing in All My Sons are Robert Weibezahl, Tamarah Ashton-Coombs, Andy Justus, Rachael Pugh, Patrick T. Rogers, Jack J. Bennett, Heidi Appe, Mary Kimball, Adrian Berumen, and Winter McLeod.

“After the great success we had with Working, we wanted to follow up with another great, but very different American work that will once again highlight the acting talent in our community,” says company founder and All My Sons producer Paul Panico. “Panic! Productions’ mission is to put on shows that both entertain and challenge the audience. All My Sons tells an emotionally powerful story that is still very relevant today.”

All My Sons opens Friday, January 6 at 8 pm and continues Fridays and Saturdays at 8, Sundays at 2 pm through January 22. Tickets are $16/$14 student and seniors, and are available at www.hillcrestarts.com, by calling 805/381-1246, or by visiting the box office. The Theatre on the Hill is at 403 W. Hillcrest Drive, Thousand Oaks.