WASHINGTON (Map, News) - The Washington area is fortunate to have one of the nation’s liveliest theater communities, which makes it all the more frustrating that local companies keep repeating the same shows over and over again. Scena recently did Ionesco’s “The Chairs,” which had been revived by Round House two seasons ago. Olney is currently presenting the musical “1776,” which Keegan performed last summer.

Now, Arena Stage is doing Arthur Miller’s masterpiece, his 1949 tragedy “Death of a Salesman,” just two years after Keegan’s superlative production starring Brian Hemmingsen. The main attraction of Arena’s version is Rick Foucheux and Nancy Robinette, two of the area’s most talented actors, in the leading roles. Needless to say, they both give impeccable performances, but truth be told, Arena’s production doesn’t quite nail Miller’s script as well as Keegan’s did.

As the title reflects, “Death of a Salesman” depicts the last 24 hours in the life of failed, middle-age traveling salesman Willy Loman (Foucheux), who resides in New York with his family. Willy is a nervous breakdown waiting to happen, a man for whom the American Dream has become an unbearable nightmare. Miller never tells us what Willy sells because in essence he sells his “well liked” personality, but now he’s come to the horrible realization that there are no longer any takers.

Willy’s petty hypocrisies have also tainted his family. His long-suffering wife, Linda (Robinette), worships him, but he has a mistress (Naomi Jacobson) in Boston. His youngest son, Happy (Tim Getman), has become a caricature of his father, constantly on the lookout for vulnerable women and get-rich-quick schemes. Conversely, the older son, Biff (Jeremy S. Holm), is so determined not to follow in his father’s footsteps that he has no ambitions whatsoever.

The cast is terrific, but director Timothy Bond’s staging is heavy-handed. For example, his reimagining of Willy’s successful brother Ben (J. Fred Shiffman) as a Mephistophelean embodiment of evil is a major miscalculation. Still, if you have never seen “Salesman,” Foucheax and Robinette’s electrifying acting makes this a memorable introduction to an American classic.