The death of Arthur Miller leaves a distinct void in the American theatre scene.

Oh, there are more recent playwrights worthy of praise but it annoyed me that so many of the reports of his death skimmed over his work and highlighted the fact of his brief marriage to Marilyn Monroe as though that were a more significant achievement.

Miller was perhaps one of this country's greatest playwrights and his work will live on in the hearts and minds of many. His later work focused on the conflict between an individual's obligation to himself and to others, and conscience was a concern throughout his repertoire.

Many consider "Death of a Salesman" his greatest work and it is one that is certain to continue to be performed. My personal favorite though remains "The Crucible," a work which held up to the light the superstition, hysteria and demand to conform at the time of the Salem witch trials as a comparison to the McCarthyism he himself experienced and against which he displayed remarkable courage. There are lessons in this play for our own times.

In tribute to him I watched last night the film version (no stage version being available) of "The Crucible," and, as always, found the experience moving. I'm not sure what Miller thought of the film but I hold that Daniel Day-Lewis makes an admirable John Proctor and Winona Ryder is splendid as Abigail Williams.