Curtain Up

Praise for ScarJo's B'way Debut

In Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge.

Scarlett Johansson moved from the silver screen to the Broadway stage Sunday, for the opening of the revival of Arthur Miller's A View From the Bridge, eliciting a rave review from The New York Times. The Gregory Mosher incarnation of Miller's ordinary 1950s production subdues the star power of Johansson and her costar Liev Schreiber, who "exquisitely" let you into what feels like your neighbor's home. But the comfort of that natural habitat turns into tension, leaving audience members with knots in their stomachs, despite the commonality of the plot. Ben Brantley of the Times cites Johansson's surprisingly effortless portrayal of 17-year-old Catherine, who's been raised as the daughter of her aunt Beatrice (Jessica Hect) and uncle Eddie (Schreiber), as a standout among other film actresses. "Johansson melts into her character so thoroughly that her nimbus of celebrity disappears," Brantley raves of the play, a classic tragedy about modern ordinary life.