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Nathan Lane stars as Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, a role he spent decades preparing for

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• The demanding role requires Lane to perform nearly three hours nightly, navigating intense emotions and minimal breaks

• Lane, 70, hinted this production could mark his farewell to Broadway after more than 40 years on stage

Nathan Laneis taking on one of theater’s most demanding roles, and he’s not ruling out that it could be his last.

The three-time Tony Award-winning stage icon, 70, is currently starring as Willy Loman in Arthur Miller’sDeath of a Salesman, a role he toldThe Guardianhe spent decades preparing to feel ready to tackle.

“It’s taken this long to feel worthy of doing it,” Lane said in the interview about the drama, published on Wednesday, April 8. “I’m doing eight shows a week and I haven’t keeled over.”

That grind, he admits, is no small feat. “This eight-a-week stuff, it’s crazy,” Lane shared. “A play like this takes a toll and costs you to do it. It’s also the reason you want to do it.”

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The role’s intensity is part of its legend.

In Miller’s 1949 classic, Willy Loman is a struggling traveling salesman unraveling under the weight of his own expectations, chasing an American dream that no longer fits. The character is widely considered one of the most demanding in theater, requiring actors to remain onstage for most of the nearly three-hour play while navigating emotional collapse, memory and delusion in real time.

That grueling performance leaves little room to breathe. “It’s hard to explain unless you’re doing it," Lane said. "Nobody understands."

Even his intermission offers little relief.

“It’s, like, 10 minutes,” he said. “I pee, I have a cup of tea, I put the jacket back on and I go out and fight my way to the death.”

Over the years, Willy Loman has been defined by towering performances, beginning with Lee J. Cobb, who originated the role, and later interpretations by actors includingDustin Hoffman,Brian DennehyandPhilip Seymour Hoffman.

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Lane, for his part, is well aware of that legacy, referencing “Cobb’s wounded lion, Dustin’s tiny tyrant” and “Dennehy’s bipolar mountain of a man” when considering how others have approached the character.

Each performance has reshaped Willy Loman — a man who must balance charm, denial and quiet desperation, often all within the same scene.

The play also holds deep personal significance for Lane, who recalls being drawn to it as a child with after a 1966 televised broadcast of Cobb's performance.

“Other children were watchingGilligan’s Islandand I was more drawn to Miller’s indictment of capitalism,” he joked.

Lane made his Broadway debut in the 1982 production ofPresent Laughterand has since built one of the stage’s most celebrated careers. Equally revered for his comedic brilliance and dramatic range — from his scene-stealing performance as Max Bialystock inThe Producersto his haunting Roy Cohn inAngels in America— he has remained a defining presence in American theater, with a career that continues to evolve even now.

But more than four decades in his stage career, Lane is unclear about what comes next — or whether there is a next chapter on stage at all.

“Oh, Jesus, who the hell knows?” he toldThe Guardian. “This could be my farewell to Broadway.”

Death of a Salesmanopens on Thursday, April 9 at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City. The play also stars Laurie Metcalf, Christopher Abbott, Ben Ahlers, Jonathan Cake, K. Todd Freeman, John Drea, Tasha Lawrence, Jake Silbermann, Michael Benjamin Washington, Joaquin Consuelos, Jake Termine, Karl Green, Jack Falahee, Katherine Romans, Mary Neely, Aidan Cazeau, Charlie Niccolini, Alexis Bronkovic, Erik Kilpatrick and Brendan Donaldson.

The revival runs through August 9.

Tickets toDeath of a Salesmanare now on sale.

Read the original article onPeople

Across three hours of oral arguments on Friday, a panel of judges appeared skeptical of a legal challenge to the 10% global tariff imposed by President Donald Trump after the Supreme Courtstruck downhis first round of tariffs earlier this year.

The lengthy hearing centered on whether a 1974 law givesPresident Trumpthe power to impose the tariffs for 150 days without approval from Congress, based on the United States' trade deficit.

The suit was brought by 24 states as well as the toy company behind Care Bears and Lincoln Logs, and a spice importer.

Trump slaps 100% tariff on some pharmaceutical drugs via executive order

Brian Marshall, arguing for the plaintiffs, told the panel of three judges on the Court of International Trade that the Trump administration is misusing the law that allowed tariffs to account for a "balance of payments deficit" -- which he said experts unanimously believe is distinct from a "trade deficit."

Judge Timothy C. Stanceu repeatedly pushed back on that claim, remarking that a "balance of payments deficit" could be created by a trade imbalance.

"In other words, a fundamental international payments problem cannot be something where the United States has to pay out a lot of money. It can also be something where there is an imbalance created by large trade surpluses in which case they wanted to let more imports in," Judge Stanceu said.

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The judges also appeared skeptical that the states suing the Trump administration had the legal standing to bring the case, though they appeared more receptive to the two small businesses that also challenged the tariffs: Basic Fun, a toy company, and Burlap and Barrel, which sells single-origin kitchen spices.

"I think there's a distinction, for example, between some of the private party plaintiffs where they said, 'We know we have X number of containers that are coming in within a certain period of time.' I'm not sure that I see the same degree of clarity with regard to the state plaintiffs other than we buy stuff," said Chief Judge Mark A. Barnett.

However, the judges also appeared to push back on some of the arguments from the Trump administration, including the claim that earlier litigation related to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act -- which the Supreme Court concluded does not give the president the right to impose tariffs -- suggested that the 1974 law now in question gives Trump that power.

"This case has nothing like that. This case has a statute that expressly allows the imposition of tariffs or quotas. So we're in a whole different universe now," said Stanceu. "This one turns on balance of payments deficits, a term that was not involved in the IEEPA case."

Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate urged the court to affirm that the 1970s law gives Trump temporary tariff power, arguing Congress was clear in giving presidents broad latitude to address the deficits in question.

"The fundamental problem that exists today also existed in 1971, and that was the problem that Congress was trying to give presidents beyond President Nixon, the discretion to address by identifying balance of payments problems," Shumate said.

The court did not signal when or how they might rule, though a decision is expected sometime in the coming months. Regardless of the ruling, tariffs are set to expire in July when the 150-day window expires.

According to the Yale Budget Lab, a nonpartisan policy research center, Trump's tariffs -- including the broad Section 122 tariffs, as well as metal and pharmaceutical tariffs imposed under different authorities -- are estimated to cost every household between $760 and $940 if the Section 122 tariffs expire within 150 days. If Congress were to extend the tariffs, the price impact could be between $1,200 and $1,500 for each household.

Sabrina Carpentertransformed Indio, Calif., into "SabrinaWood" for her showstoppingCoachella 2026headlining set Friday night.

The Old Hollywood–themed performance boasted surprise cameos fromSusan Sarandon,Will Ferrell,Samuel L. Jackson, andSam Elliott, and included cinematic references to Alfred Hitchcock,The Wizard of Oz… andSnakes on a Plane?

Carpenter opened the set with a black-and-white short film in which she played what looked like a "Hitchcock Blonde," driving down a lone highway at night in a 1950s classic car as she sang along to Kool & the Gang’s "Hollywood Swinging."

In a scene straight out ofPsycho, police lights emerged in the rearview, and when she pulled over a mysterious, creepy officer portrayed byLandmanstar Elliott proceeded to grill her.

The "Manchild" singer managed to get back on the road, eventually arriving at a drive-in that was revealed to be Coachella.  As she emerged from the car, the black-and-white scene turned to Technicolor, seemingly alluding to 1939'sThe Wizard of Oz,but her yellow brick road to the stage resembled the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

HerMan's Best Friendsingle "House Tour" kicked off the show, with the singer decked out in a red glittery mini, perhaps a nod to Dorothy’s ruby slippers.

Sarandon nearly stole the show with her cameo (or at least brought it to a screeching halt) when she delivered a dramatic monologue in the middle of Carpenter's set, playing an older version of the singer. Hearkening back to the opening sequence, the 77-year-old actress sat in a classic car at a drive-in and reflected on "what it was like to be a star" in her glory days. The nearly seven-minute soliloquy was eventually interrupted by a carhop portrayed by Carpenter's formerGirl Meets Worldcostar Corey Fogelmanis, who popped up to give her the check and close her out before he ended his shift.

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So what's the connection between Sarandon and Carpenter? The singer's 2025 video for "Tears" has drawncomparisonstoTheRocky Horror Picture Show,the 1975 musical comedy starring Sarandon and Tim Curry, so it could have all started there.

Several songs later, as Carpenter concluded "Bad Chem," the stage's power short-circuited, requiring a quick repair from the festival's on-call electrician: none other than Will Ferrell. The comedian didn't seem too thrilled about the gig, as he griped to the crowd, because he thought he was working Stagecoach, which will actually take place the weekend after Coachella wraps.

Ferrell got the lights working again just in time for Carpenter's performance of "Juno," a song inspired by the 2007 comedy about an unplanned teen pregnancy. However, she seemed to reference a different funny film toward the end of it —Snakes on a Plane,which features Jackson'siconic line, "I have had it with these motherf---ing snakes on this motherf---ing plane!"

"Hello, Coachella, this is your spiritual guide," said the actor in a voice-over. "I'm here to take you motherf---ers on this journey to relaxation." After a few breathing exercises, he told Carpenter, echoing thatSnakesline, "Now, Sabrina, finish the motherf---ing song."

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Earlier this week, Carpenter promised fans that #Sabchella would be"the most ambitious show I've ever done,"and she did indeed turn in a splashy, glitzy, blockbuster performance.

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