“All My Sons,” the McNeese Theatre Bayou Players latest production, shows the humanity that is prevalent in playwright Arthur Miller’s work, director Joy Pace said.

The show will be on stage at 7:30 p.m. March 14-17 and at 2 p.m. March 18 in the Shearman Fine Arts Theatre.

Miller may be the greatest American playwright and one of the greatest in the world, Pace said. “His greatest asset is his ability to get at his own humanity,” she said.

The following line best sums up the theme, she said: “Once and for all, there is a universe of people outside, and you are responsible to it.”

Another theme is the time when adult children come to realize that their parents are human and flawed, she said.

“It is an easy read and easy to hear,” she said.

Written in 1947, “it is an American story but not exclusive to the United States. It is applicable to other societies.”

It is set during a depression and a time of war, she said, but is not just about war but also about home life, big business and greed during war and that “you can do better.”

The love affair of Chris Keller and Ann Deever, the bitterness of George Deever, who returned from the war to find his father in prison and his father’s partner free, are all set in a structure of almost unbearable power. Trust, love, betrayal, denial — all are struggles of the human condition. The climax showing the reaction of a son to his guilty father is a fitting conclusion to a play electrifying in its intensity.

Deever was sent to prison because the firm turned out defective parts, causing the deaths of many men. Keller went free and made a lot of money. The twin shadows of this catastrophe and the fact that the young Keller son was reported missing during the war dominate the action.

The lead roles include Joe Keller, co-owner of a machine shop that makes airplane parts, played by a community member, Randy Partin of Moss Bluff. Chris Keller is played by Jonathon Richards of DeRidder, a sophomore theater arts student.

Other players are Elise Hamilton of Lake Charles, Kate Keller, with Kylie Welch of Lake Charles as understudy; Suzanne Heironymus of Welsh as Ann Dever; Chris Reeves of DeRidder, George Deever; Ronald Doyle of Singer, Dr. Jim Bayliss; Megan Voorhies of Lake Charles as Sue Bayliss, with understudy Hanna Philley of Rayville; Jean-Luc Waddle of Sulphur, Frank Lubey; Wesley Saucier of Sulphur and understudy Welch, Lydia Lubey; and community member Alex Gabbert of Lake Charles, Bert.

The production staff in addition to Pace includes technical director and scenic design, Shannon Miller; lighting design, Norman McKnight of Lake Charles; costumer, Bianca Anderson of Iowa; make-up design, Jalisa Hicks of Jonesboro; properties master, William Lormand of Lake Charles; stage manager, Kevin Delaney of Grand Lake, and assistant stage managers, Lormand and Sierra Jones of New Orleans.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for McNeese faculty/staff, senior citizens and students, and free for McNeese students with a current ID at the box office, 475-5043.

Joe (Randy Partin) jokes with sweethearts Chris (Jonathon Richards) and Anne (Suzanne Hieronymus) in a scene from McNeese Theatre Bayou Players’ “All My Sons.” (MICHELLE HIGGINBOTHAM / SPECIAL TO THE AMERICAN PRESS)

Michelle Higginbotham