Following a successful run of "Enchanted April" — a romantic comedy he directed last March — Liebert once again dons his director’s hat for the Studio Players’ production of "A View from the Bridge," opening tomorrow evening at the Studio Playhouse.

"I was honored when the Studio Players presented me with the opportunity to direct Arthur Miller’s classic American drama ‘A View from the Bridge,’" said Liebert. "I have long felt that the Playhouse should produce a play by one of our great 20th-century American playwrights. Not that I don’t appreciate Eugene O’Neill and Tennessee Williams, but Miller speaks to me. Maybe the connection is geographic or maybe it was my early encounter of seeing a production of Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman,’ starring Lee J. Cobb, I’m not sure. Whatever it is, I embraced the challenge of mounting our production of this great American classic."

Arthur Miller penned "A View from the Bridge" in 1955 following "Death of a Salesman" (1949) and "The Crucible" (1953). "‘A View from the Bridge’ was originally written in one act and was based on a story he had heard from a waterfront worker in his neighborhood," Liebert went on to explain.

In Miller’s own words, "It was a hard, telegraphic, unadorned drama. What struck me about this tale … was how directly and with what breathtaking simplicity it did evolve. It seemed to me, finally, that its very bareness, its absolute unswerving path, its exposed skeleton, so to speak, was its wisdom and even its charm."

Everything in the play was on the track of the Eddie Carbone train wreck with no extraneous detail or other character’s point of view explored. Miller was more concerned with stimulating the audience’s sense of wonder with the psychology at play rather than provoking an emotional reaction to Eddie as another misunderstood victim.

"‘A View from the Bridge’ was originally produced on Broadway in 1956, but failed to find a large audience." Liebert pointed out. "Miller took the play to London in 1957 and in an environment foreign to the play’s Brooklyn setting, it found its universality." It was there that Miller developed the character of Eddie’s wife, Beatrice. As he expanded the character’s humanity, the play became two acts. It enjoyed a long run in both London and Paris, but did not receive critical nor popular acclaim on Broadway until 40 years later with the 1998 revival with Anthony LaPaglia and Allison Janney.

"My fascination with ‘View from the Bridge’ is its enduring quality, which is the combination of its brilliant craftsmanship and its timeless subject matter," Liebert said. "Over 50 years later the societal issues that Miller put under the microscope have not gone away. We are still dealing with illegal immigration, organized crime, betrayal, homophobia, incest and, everyone’s favorite, dysfunctional family relationships. They have changed in their appearance and are no longer locked in the 1950s closet of taboo, but they persist.

"In examining this work, I felt it was important that our production transcend its original setting," the director stressed. "It is not just a story of the Brooklyn waterfront in 1955; it could just as easily be set today in a Texas border town or a dozen other locations. It is not a tale of Italians any more than it is of Asians, Eastern Europeans, Hispanics or any number of other ethnic groups.

"That is why, while using Arthur Miller’s unaltered text, I have chosen to eliminate dialects and to make the setting and costumes as timeless as possible," he pointed out. "The set reflects the playwright’s ‘exposed skeleton’ which is unadorned and does not distract from the characters or their story.

"The costumes are character appropriate but are classic and not in the style of any particular era," he added. "My cast, many of whom are newcomers to Studio Playhouse, and our creative team embraced this concept. They have been working diligently, delving into these problematic issues with intelligence and sensitivity in order to give our audiences the opportunity to take another ‘View from the Bridge.’"

As a man of many hats, Liebert’s theatrical credentials are equally impressive.

Mark Liebert began acting in 1960 at the age of 8, and made his professional stage debut at age 11 with the Theatre Company of Boston in "The Informer," starring Dustin Hoffman. He continued to perform onstage in summer stock; took part in his first national tour; and was part of the world premiere of "A White House Happening," starring John Lithgow and Tommy Lee Jones.

In 1971, he made his New York City debut in the off-Broadway children’s musical, "Rainbow Junction," and performed improv with the New York spin-off of Chicago’s "Second City" company. A year later, he returned to Boston as an actor and designer with the Boston Publick Theatre, a classical repertory company, where he debuted his first set designs. Later that year, he joined the Boston company of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest" that began a three-year association with the show, which included stints in both the New York and San Francisco companies as well as with both the Pernell Roberts and Robert Forster tours. Along the way, he garnered numerous film and television credits, including "Annie Hall," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest," "The Towering Inferno," "An Unmarried Woman," "The Streets of San Francisco," "Moving On" and "Kojak."

In 1979, Liebert "retired" from show business and went back to school to become a practicing physical therapist, graduating in 1983. He did not return to the stage until 1994, when he made his Studio Playhouse debut in "Peter and the Pirates," whose cast included both of his sons, Josh (currently the sound engineer for the off-Broadway musical, "Sessions," opening this month in New York City) and Ben (currently playing the role of Boq in "Wicked").

In his second "career" in the theater, Liebert has worked at numerous New York and New Jersey theaters, but has made Studio Playhouse his home. He has appeared in more than 30 different productions — from "Sly Fox" and "Hello Dolly" to "The Full Monty" and "Plaza Suite"; directed 13, including "Cabaret" and "My Three Angels"; designed the sets for more than 50 shows, like "Veronica’s Room" and "Wait Until Dark"; and has written three plays, "Around the Horn," "Quillow," and a new comedy, "Tennyson, Anyone?" which will be produced at the Studio Playhouse in March.

In addition, he has served on Studio’s Board of Managers; has been a mentor to their junior productions; and is currently serving his fourth term as production manager.

And after 25 years as a physical therapist, Liebert is now combining physical therapy with theater. He is the theater program director at the Horizon School in Livingston, a school serving children with profound special needs. Together with a dedicated staff, he has been able to use a wide range of assistive technologies to create theater. The summer of 2008 saw their first production, "Seussical," which Liebert directed and choreographed with one class. Based on the success of that show, the program has been expanded to include five classes, with over 40 children. Currently, they are in rehearsal for "Grease," which will be performed later this month.

So, whether it becomes a question of art imitating life or life imitating art, for Mark Liebert, being immersed in the many facets of theater is what it’s all about.

Contact Joan Finn at finn@montclairtimes.com.