'A View from the Bridge' takes stage at The Vortex Theatre

Director James Cady hopes his audience experiences a sense of relief, joy and catharsis as they watch his iteration of “A View from the Bridge.”

“It’s capable to have those emotions all at the same time because we cry when we’re joyous,” Cady said. “And we’ll say, ‘Why are you crying?’ Because I’m happy.”

The Vortex Theatre in Albuquerque will run “A View from the Bridge” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 8, and Saturday, Aug. 9, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, with repeats through Aug. 31.

Written in 1955 by Arthur Miller, the play follows Eddie Carbone, a longshoreman whose sense of honor, jealousy and desire unravel when his wife’s immigrant cousins arrive from Italy. According to a news release, the play builds to a searing climax that resonates just as powerfully today as it did at its debut.

An avid lover of Miller, Cady said the playwright disagrees with Aristotle’s idea that a tragic hero must be noble and high ranking. Rather, Miller saw that common, working class people experienced tragedy too.

Before being a director, Cady said he started out acting when he was 18. Starting out so young, he felt he didn’t have enough life experience to act and shifted into directing plays. From there, Cady would go on to spend 35 years producing TV commercials, documentaries and a feature film.

After moving to Santa Fe 25 years ago, Cady spent some time painting before losing inspiration and finding his way back to theater. He’s directed 30 to 35 plays and, every time, he’ll say working with the actors is his favorite part.

“I’ve read this play three times, that’s it,” Cady said. “The rest of it will come through the actors. It becomes an organic process between me and them.”

Though Miller’s original play was two acts and took place in a realistic environment with sets and props, Cady’s direction moved the play to one act featuring only the stage and actors.

“Only the voices of the words of Miller, the actual words and the subtext of Miller and the characters,” Cady said. “It’s just there. The raw, bare bones of the play.”

Cady believes a director’s most important job is casting and, in a situation where they have no staging or items to rely on, they must be able to keep the audience engaged. However, he said he’s hired fabulous actors who can play to the character’s intentions.

“David Mamet, a great American playwright, once said that ‘Any great play’ – and I think this is a great play – ‘is worth doing on a bare stage,’” Cady said.