Interview: Dominic Fumusa’s Connection to Arthur Miller’s Eddie Carbone in a Site-Specific View From the Bridge

In his 25-plus-year career as an actor, Dominic Fumusa has created a lot of memorable characters, from his seven-year-turn as the loving but frustrated Kevin Peyton opposite Edie Falco in the hit TV series Nurse Jackie to baseball player Toody Kosovitz in the original off-Broadway production of Take Me Out.

But no part has meant more to Fumusa than Brooklyn longshoreman Eddie Carbone, whom he currently plays in the new production of Arthur Miller’s A View From the Bridge at New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre at the site-specific Canal Dock Boathouse through March 10.

TheaterMania recently spoke to Fumusa about his long fascination with the character, his personal connection to Arthur Miller, and why he feels this production is different than those audiences have seen before.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

How long has Eddie Carbone been on your bucket list?

Probably since I read the play in college, but I honestly don’t think I could have been offered any better part in any play than right now, especially at my age [54]. One of my first auditions after I came to New York was for Rodolfo in the Anthony LaPaglia production. I didn’t get the part, but watching the show and preparing for that audition, I really fell in love with Eddie. I think it’s just as powerful a role as Iago and Richard III; he’s a messed-up guy who makes messed-up choices and pays the price.

It’s clear you love the character, but what about the play?

Every scene is so contained, so direct, that it almost plays itself. There is no fat in this script. In some ways, it’s like driving a Lamborghini; you just get on the road and keep going. James Dean Palmer, our director, said in rehearsal that this play is as good as Death of a Salesman. Originally, I thought, “No, not true,” but I’ve come around to this idea.

So, you saw Anthony LaPaglia. Did you also see Liev Schreiber and Mark Strong do Eddie on Broadway?

Yes, I was lucky to see three such great actors in this part, but I knew had to make Eddie my own. And while Mark and Liev are both amazing, I don’t see them as having a similar make-up to me, and I haven’t been hearing their voices in my head. Plus, both of those productions were quite a long time ago.

The play is often seen as a modern-day Greek tragedy. Do you agree?

I do agree that the cosmos is working against him, so that he ends up on a path that he can’t get off of. What’s happening to Eddie is out of his control, which makes everything more tragic. What I also love about this play is that Miller is dealing with time in a fascinating way, just as the Greeks did. There’s a reason his autobiography, which I am reading, is called Time Bends. He teaches us that the past is present – that we are all products of generations before us. Personally, I am the grandson of a Sicilian immigrant, like Eddie, and my father would have been Eddie’s age when the play takes place. So that really resonates with me.

It’s also a play about a long marriage. You’ve been married to the actor Ilana Levine since 2002! How does that affect your portrayal?

I’ve seen versions where it seems like Eddie’s marriage to Beatrice has crumbled. And yes, they’re not sleeping together – but I don’t agree that this marriage is over. Annie Parisse and I are playing this as something has come over Eddie. Yes, he’s affected by Rodolfo and Catherine’s relationship; but he’s not in love with Catherine. He’s just not ready to let go of this little world the three of them have created – which is also a metaphor for how the new world and old world are crashing together for him. I believe there’s still tremendous love between him and Beatrice.

You’ve spent most of your professional career working with living playwrights, including Richard Greenberg and Sarah Ruhl. Is it different here since Miller is long gone?

I had the very good fortune of doing Mr. Miller’s play Mr. Peter’s Connections in 1999 at the Guthrie, and I got to meet Miller at rehearsal and on opening night. I thought I could never top that experience; but now that I am doing this play, I truly feel like I am in the room with him and his presence every single day. So, yes, he’s not with us changing the script daily, but it doesn’t feel much different.

Tell me about the new playing space you’re using and how that affects you and the production?

It’s incredible. We are on a renovated boathouse in New Haven, over 120 years old, that is right on the Long Island Sound. Not only are we just steps from the water, we’re using an outdoor balcony and a lot of our scenes are outside. At night, you see the boats on the Sound. In fact, it’s gorgeous to just be able to see the whole world right outside. Ultimately, it’s this incredible meeting of theater space and play. But if this production really works, James [Dean Palmer, our director] told me that he has an idea of how to move this elsewhere. We will see. I’ve mostly been off the stage for a long time, but I am really committed to the idea of doing more theater.