Steve Knox of Shrewsbury back on the stage for WCLOC's 'All My Sons' after 40-year hiatus

Steve Knox of Shrewsbury was a professional theater actor for nearly 20 years, including stays in Portland, Oregon, the San Francisco Bay area, and New York City.

Returning to his native Oregon from New York to be in a show in 1983, Knox met the woman, Lee Reid, who would soon become his wife. As marriage and children intervened, Knox turned to a career in high tech and he wouldn't act again for a long time.

But now he's back on stage for the first time in 40 years.

Knox, 76, plays the tragic family patriarch Joe Keller in the WCLOC Theater Company production of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" running Oct. 13 to 22 at the WCLOC Clubhouse, 21 Grandview Ave., Worcester. The rest of the cast includes Lauren Casey, Lucas Clayden, Adam DeCoste, Norman Dubois, Kaitlyn Ekstrom-Doig, Jeffrey Ford, Liam Houlihan, Marie Kottenstette, Robin Shropshire and Timothy Weir. Eric Butler directs.

'When I was cast, I got scared'

Knox was also in a production of "All My Sons," in a different role, 50 years ago.

"It's been long, long time since I've been on stage, and it's a large part, it really is," he said of playing Joe Keller.

Knox isn't returning to theater in an easy play or an easy role, but that's just as he wanted it.

"What drew me to it was the kind of theater," he said of mid-20th century American drama. "Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Thornton Wilder — those were the shows," he said of the theater that he admires.

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As a theatergoer, he has also come to admire WCLOC Theater company and the work of director Eric Butler, who is directing "All My Sons."

So when Knox heard about WCLOC having auditions for "All My Sons" he decided go out on a limb and auditioned.

He was one of four actors called back for the role of Joe Keller.

"I was surprised. I did not expect to get called back," Knox said.

"When I was cast, I got scared."

But with several rehearsals now under his belt, "I'm enjoying it," he said.

'A different Joe'

Set just after World War II ("All My Sons" debuted on Broadway in 1947), Joe Keller, 61, is co-owner of a factory that made parts for the Army Air Corps. During the war, he allowed equipment to be shipped knowing full-well that it was flawed. Letting a few bad parts out, his rationale went, was a harmless enough act when the alternative would probably be losing a contract and being forced to shut down. Unfortunately, it became a fatal mistake after several pilots died on missions because of the faulty equipment.

Keller's partner, Steve Deever, was sent to prison while Keller escaped punishment and went back to business, making himself very wealthy. But a love affair between Keller’s son, Chris (played by Adam De Coste), and Ann Deever (Lauren Casey), Steve’s daughter, along with the the bitterness of George Deever (Liam Houlihan), who returns from the war to find his father in prison and his father’s partner free, and the reaction of Chris Keller to his father’s guilt, escalate matters to a tragic climax.

Knox played George Deever in the 1973 production he appeared in.

"I'm doing a different Joe than the actor who did Joe 50 years ago," he said. "A lot of that is Eric (Butler). He wants Joe to be likeable. He built a business. He's a likeable guy who finally comes to terms with the fact that he's done something really bad."

Knox said Joe Keller is "multidimensional." Keller "has been on his own since he was 10-years-old. He went out and got invoved in the merging industrial age." With that he's "very uneducated" and is surprised by what his son Chris knows that he doesn't know. He also wants to bring everything back as it was before the faulty equipment saga. "He's a tragic character. He doesn't come to terms with the repercussions of what he did."

The death of the pilots was something Keller thought would "never happen ... He didn't want to lose his company," Knox said.

'Sharing his talents'

"Steve has been a regular patron at WCLOC over the years. When Steve came out to auditions, we were thrilled to learn of his past professional acting experience and his interest in sharing his talents with our audiences," said Butler.

"Steve is a joy to direct: thoughtful, inquisitive, and generous with his scene partners. Almost all actors get a rush from the applause, but Steve becomes invigorated by the process. As a director, l have the most fun working with actors on character development, objectives, tactics, and shaping scenes with them. I’m grateful to be working with cast members like Steve who love the rehearsal process as much as I do and embrace the work that inches us closer to fantastic production — which I’m confident this will be!" Butler said.

Knox grew up in Orergon, and got a scholarship to attend Lewis and Clark College in Portland where he acted in a number of productions.

After graduating he acted at a small repertory theater in Portland, and then moved to the San Francisco area to join the Berkley Repertory Theatre.

Next, Knox decided to try his luck in New York City. "That was a challange," he said.

Still, he is a former member of Equity, the actors' union, and was managing director of the Trinity Players in New York. But the position was more admisnistartive than artistic, and "I was not fulfilled by it," Knox said.

Back in Portland for a quick visit and a show he met Lee Reid.

Knox recalled that she told him, "You need a profession." He replied, "I'm doing a profession," meaning acting." "You need one that pays," she said.

Knox worked high-tech in the US, Japan, China, Malaysia and Thailand. Theater was out of the question.

"The job kept me so busy and the family. And I traveled so damn much," he said.

'It comes back'

A job with the former Digital Equipment Corporation took him to Shrewsbury where he still lives. He and his wife have two daughters and four grandchildren.

Knox retired in 2017 at the age of 70. He sings in the choir at First Unitarian Church of Worcetser and goes to plays.

"I really like WCLOC and I really like the theater itself," he said of the the WCLOC Clubhouse, the theater company's intimate performance space. For an actor the space allows for subtle nuance, he noted.

But as the years passed, "I didn't feel any call, 'Oh gee, I want to back on stage,'" Knox said.

"All My Sons" proved to be another matter.

Worries about coming back and learning lines were eased as rehearsals progressed. "I'm impressed with the cast and Eric. It's coming togther in terms of abating that fear," Knox said.

"You get your theater legs under you again, and the memorization of lines — it comes back. You've got to keep your concentration."

After he got the script for "All My Sons" Knox started getting up at 4:30 in the morning to learn his lines "because my mind is very fresh then," he said.

"It took that kind of effort. It's paid off. That's all I can tell you."

As for whether Knox will be doing more acting in the future, he said "Right now my mind is on this show. As to would I do anything else, I don't know. There are not many roles for people my age. I'm 15 years older than Joe is supposed to be. We'll see."

'All My Sons' by Arthur Miller — presented by WCLOC Theater Company

When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13, 14, 19, 20 and 21; 2 p.m. Oct. 15 and 22

Where: WCLOC Clubhouse, 21 Grandview Ave., Worcester

How much: $25; $22 students and seniors. www.wcloc.org

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Steve Knox back on the stage for WCLOC's All My Sons after 40 years