"Attention must be paid" is a key line of the character of Linda Loman in the play "Death of a Salesman" and after the 50th Anniversary production that opened on Broadway in February 1999, that sentiment applied to the actress playing the role. Elizabeth Franz garnered some of the best reviews of her career and picked up her first Tony Award for her featured role. After years working in repertory theaters across the USA, playing roles on daytime dramas and small parts in film, she had arrived. Determination, however, had been the cornerstone of her career.

While growing up in Akron, Ohio,