The Price (play)
| The Price | |
|---|---|
 Scene from a 2017 Greek production | |
| Written by | Arthur Miller |
| Characters | Victor Franz Esther Franz Gregory Solomon Walter Franz |
| Date premiered | February 7, 1968 |
| Place premiered | Morosco Theatre, New York City |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Drama |
| Setting | The attic of a to-be-demolished brownstone apartment building, New York City |
The Price is a two-act play written in 1967 by Arthur Miller.[1] It is about family dynamics, the price of furniture and the price of one's decisions. The play premiered on Broadway in 1968, and has been revived four times on Broadway. It was nominated for two 1968 Tony Awards.
Miller stated that he wrote the play as a response to the Vietnam War and the "avant-garde plays that to one or another degree fit the absurd styles."[2]
Productions
[edit]The play opened on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre on February 7, 1968 where it played until the production moved to the 46th Street Theatre on November 18, 1968. The play closed on February 15, 1969 after 429 performances. The opening cast included Harold Gary as Gregory Solomon, Pat Hingle as Victor Franz, Kate Reid as Esther Franz, and Arthur Kennedy as Walter Franz.[3]
The Price was nominated for two 1968 Tony Awards, for Best Play (Arthur Miller, writer; Robert Whitehead, producer) and Best Scenic Design (Boris Aronson). The Price lost in the "Best Play" category to Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The play was profiled in the William Goldman book The Season: A Candid Look at Broadway.
A UK revival of the play was staged from August 9 to August 25, 2018 at the Theatre Royal, Bath to mark the 50th anniversary of the original run. Directed by Jonathan Church, it starred Brendan Coyle as Victor, Sara Stewart as Esther, Adrian Lukis as Walter and David Suchet as Gregory Solomon.[4] The production transferred to Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End from February 5 to April 27, 2019.[5]
It will be revived in the Gate Theatre (Dublin, Ireland) in 2023, directed by Conleth Hill.[6][7]
Production history
[edit]The Price has been revived four times on Broadway since the original 1968 production:
- Playhouse Theatre, June 19 to October 21, 1979, 144 performances, directed by John Stix[8]
- Criterion Center Stage Right, June 10 to July 19, 1992, 46 performances; directed by John Tillinger; nominated for 1993 Tony Award, Best Revival[9]
- Royale Theatre, November 15, 1999 to March 5, 2000, 128 performances; directed by James Naughton, nominated for the 2000 Tony Award, Best Revival of a Play and Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Revival of a Play[10][11]
- American Airlines Theatre, February 16, 2017 to May 14, 2017, directed by Terry Kinney.[12][13]
- Mark Ruffalo as Victor Franz
- Jessica Hecht as Esther Franz
- Tony Shalhoub as Walter Franz
- Danny DeVito as Gregory Solomon
Notable Regional Productions:
- ArtSpace at Crestwood Court, closed February 13, 2011
- Octagon Theatre, March 10 - April 2, 2011
- ACT Theatre, Seattle, Washington, May 30, 2014 to June 22, 2014[14]
- Mark Taper Forum at the Center Theatre Group, February 11, 2015 to March 22, directed by Garry Hynes.[15]
- Artists Repertory Theatre, March 31, 2015 to April 26, 2015
- TimeLine Theatre, Chicago, Illinois, August 2015 to November 2015[16]
- Arena Stage, Washington, DC, October to November 2017, featuring Hal Linden as Gregory Solomon[17]
Casts
[edit]| Characters | 1968 Original Broadway cast | 1979 Broadway revival | 1992 Broadway revival | 1999 Broadway Revival | 2017 Broadway revival | 2019 West End revival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor Franz | Pat Hingle | Mitchell Ryan | Hector Elizondo | Jeffrey DeMunn | Mark Ruffalo | Brendan Coyle |
| Esther Franz | Kate Reid | Scotty Bloch | Debra Mooney | Lizbeth MacKay | Jessica Hecht | Sara Stewart |
| Gregory Solomon | Harold Gary | Joseph Buloff | Eli Wallach | Bob Dishy | Danny DeVito | David Suchet |
| Walter Franz | Arthur Kennedy | Fritz Weaver | Joe Spano | Harris Yulin | Tony Shalhoub | Adrian Lukis |
Overview
[edit]After the Great Depression, Victor Franz gave up going to college to support his father. After 30 years, Victor returns to sell his parents’ estate. His wife, Esther, his brother, Walter, and a canny furniture dealer have their own agendas. Victor must finally deal with his sacrifice.
Characters
[edit]- Victor Franz - A police sergeant, eligible for retirement and approaching his fiftieth birthday. The character is based on Irving Abrams, Miller's childhood friend, who attended Columbia University and had the highest IQ on the NYC police force.[18]
- Esther Franz - Victor's wife, it is suggested that Esther may have a problem with drinking.
- Gregory Solomon - A wily Russian-Jewish antique dealer, an octogenarian.[18] Michael Billington of The Guardian described the character as "a blissfully comic creation who, at first, appears to have wandered in from a Neil Simon play, but who is well aware this is his last chance to defy time."[19]
- Walter Franz - Victor's brother, a successful doctor Victor hasn't spoken to in years.
Adaptations
[edit]Цена — film by Mikhail Kalik. USSR 1969 year.
The Price was adapted for television, directed by Fielder Cook from a script by Miller, and broadcast as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame on the NBC network on February 3, 1971. David Burns played Mr. Solomon, Colleen Dewhurst played Mrs. Franz, George C. Scott played Victor Franz, and Barry Sullivan played Walter Franz.[20] The production was nominated for six Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Scott), Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in Drama (Burns), Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama - A Single Program (Cook), and Outstanding Single Program - Drama or Comedy (David Susskind, producer). Scott and Cook won.
Awards and nominations
[edit]Original Broadway production
[edit]| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Tony Award | Best Play | Nominated | |
| Best Scenic Design | Boris Aronson | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Play | Won | ||
| Outstanding Performance | Harold Gray | Won | ||
1971 Television Special
[edit]| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Single Program - Drama or Comedy | David Susskind | Nominated |
| Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role | George C. Scott | Won | ||
| Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role | Colleen Dewhurst | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | David Burns | Won | ||
| Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama - A Single Program | Fielder Cook | Won | ||
| Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction or Scenic Design - For a Dramatic Program or Feature Length Film, a Single Program of a Series or a Special Program | John Clements | Nominated | ||
| 1972 | Directors Guild of America Award | Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television | Fielder Cook | Nominated |
1979 Broadway revival
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Fritz Weaver | Nominated |
1992 Broadway revival
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Tony Award | Best Revival | Nominated | |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Eli Wallach | Nominated | ||
1999 Broadway revival
[edit]| Year | Award ceremony | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Tony Award | Best Revival of a Play | Nominated | |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Arthur Miller | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Harris Yulin | Nominated | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Bob Dishy | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Lizbeth MacKay | Nominated | ||
2017 Broadway revival
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Tony Award | Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play | Danny DeVito | Nominated |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Won | ||
| Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Danny DeVito | Won | ||
| Drama League Award | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Nominated | ||
| Distinguished Performance | Danny DeVito | Nominated | ||
2019 West End revival
[edit]| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Revival | Wyndham's Theatre | Nominated |
| Best Actor | David Suchet | Nominated | ||
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Adrian Lukis | Nominated |
References
[edit]- ^ Miller, Arthur. Echoes Down the Corridor: Collected Essays, 1944–2000. New York: Viking, 2000, p. 297 ISBN 0670893145
- ^ Miller, Arthur (1999-11-14). "The Past and Its Power: Why I Wrote 'The Price'". Retrieved 2019-02-08.
- ^ " 'The Price' 1968 Broadway" Playbill, accessed August 16, 2016
- ^ "The Price — Theatre Royal Bath".
- ^ "Arthur Miller's the Price to transfer to the West End with David Suchet". 15 October 2018.
- ^ "The Price by Arthur Miller".
- ^ "The Gate, after a challenging decade, looks to 'become the type of civic space a theatre should be'". The Irish Times.
- ^ " 'The Price' 1979" ibdb.com, accessed August 16, 2016
- ^ " 'The Price' 1992" ibdb.com, accessed August 16, 2016
- ^ " 'The Price' 1999" ibdb.com, accessed August 16, 2016
- ^ " The Price 1999" Playbill, accessed August 16, 2016
- ^ Viagas, Robert. "Mark Ruffalo and Danny DeVito Begin Previews in Broadway 'Price'" Playbill, February 16, 2017
- ^ Vine, Hannah. "Mark Ruffalo and Danny DeVito Bring 'The Price' Back to Broadway" Playbill, March 1, 2017
- ^ The Price acttheatre.org, accessed August 16, 2016
- ^ Pierpont, Katie. "Arthur Miller Classic 'The Price' to Play Center Theatre Group's Mark Taper Forum" theatermania.com, February 11, 2015
- ^ The Price timelinetheatre.com, accessed August 16, 2016
- ^ "Hal Linden is right for ‘The Price’ at Arena Stage" washingtonpost.com, accessed November 5, 2017
- ^ a b Miles, Ben. "Review. The Price" ShowMag, February 2015, retrieved February 17, 2017
- ^ Billington, Michael (2018-08-17). "The Price review – David Suchet glows in Arthur Miller revival". The Guardian. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
- ^ The Price paleycenter.org, accessed August 16, 2016
Further reading
[edit]- Bigsby, C.W.E. (January 1970). "What Price Arthur Miller? An Analysis of The Price". Twentieth Century Literature. 16 (1). Duke University Press: 16–25. doi:10.2307/440786. JSTOR 440786.