At the final curtain of the revival of Arthur Miller’s classic play Death of a Salesman, Nathan Lane comes out to take a bow. He looks exhausted after giving the 3 hour award-winning performance of his life and the tumultuous applause from the audience shows its appreciation. Lane, a versatile performer who can do comedy (Murders in the Building, Modern Family) as well as serious drama (Angels in America) is awesome. Those of us who have seen several versions of the play, may consider this performance a benchmark.

At the beginning, Lane as Willy Loman, the titular salesman, is tired. He’s 60 and worn down by years and miles of travel and disappointment. He lacks energy and is beginning to talk to himself to people no one else can see, reliving incidents from his past. In his flashbacks, Willie recalls his brother, Ben (Jonathan Cake) who made it big in Alaska and regrets not following along.

Now in the twilight of his life, Willie is a failure. He’s back to working on straight commission and having to borrow money weekly from his next-door neighbor. Throughout his life, Willie always believed that being liked and having personality were the keys to being successful and these were the principles he imparted to his son Biff (Christopher Abbott) and Happy (Ben Ahlers.) One need only look at where his sons are in life to realize that Willie’s advice has not been helpful.

Biff has left home and is unable to keep a job. When he does come home, father and son argue almost to the point of violence. Happy is a ladies’ man and a big talker, deceiving himself about his position. He sounds like a young Willie. The confrontations with his sons are powerful and emotionally charged. At times, you can hear people sniffle and see people blot their tears as everyone relates to family drama.

Through all of this, the audience realizes that Willie was never successful, yet his long-suffering wife Linda (Laurie Metcalf in a performance equally brilliant to that of Lane ) encourages and supports him.

Towards the end, as Willie comes to the realization that this is all he will ever be, he turns and gets back in his car. We see him close the door and start the engine. Slowly, the garage door closes and the lights come down. The setting (Chloe Lamford’s amazing design) is a vague, dark, crumbling industrial garage. It plays almost as important a role as the character as Willie is often stuck in the vagaries of his mind. It is dreamlike and is effective as Willie retreats to the past.

Director Joe Mantello gets astounding performances from his actors. Although I’ve seen the play often, I don’t recall feeling as much sympathy for Willie as I did with Lane's performance or admiration for Linda’s strength and forcefulness with Metcalf’s interpretation.

If you originally thought as I did, that we didn't need another revival of A Death of a Salesman, don’t be put off. This version will affect you more than the others you’ve seen. Lane leaves the theater physically exhausted, but you will be emotionally touched.