The Price
Written by Arthur Miller, Directed by Noelle McGrath
Theatre at St. Clements at 423 West 46th Street, New York, NY 10036
February 19-March 30, 2025
Photo Credit by Joe Pacifico
From the moment you descend the stairs into the theater, you are met with an absolutely exquisite set by The Village Theater. You are instantly taken to another time by the gorgeous old pieces of furniture and bric-a-brac. And it occurred to me a play from 1968 is now a “period piece”. Miller was 53 when The Price was first produced, 24 years after his first play and 21 years after his first big hit. So long ago, that the production’s program gives the audience a conversion guide for the dollar values referenced throughout the play.
Born in 1915, and living through the crash and subsequent depression, Miller writes about a family that lost almost everything to the market crash, and came to store all of the worldly goods, piled high to the rafters, in the apartment they occupied above their uncle’s house which is now set for demolition – likely a reference to the slum clearance imposed by Robert Moses. The pending destruction has forced Victor Franz to return to his childhood home, where his father lived out his life, to sell-off the family heirlooms. He has until the end of the week. This sudden urgency is what brings all of the characters together: Victor, the dutiful son who gave up his education to support his father; Ester, Victor’s wife who has a taste for the finer things and keeps a mental tally of all she has given up to be Victor’s wife; Walter, Victor’s highly successful,l estranged brother; and Mr. Solomon an aged appraiser. Just as Victor and Mr. Solomon strike a deal, Walter returns home, and the true drama begins.
Everyone involved in this production has done their due diligence. It is evident in the smallest of details and the largest of moments. Bill Barry’s Victor, like the brother he plays must carry the lion’s share of the hurt. He has felt the pressure of his family his entire life, and now just when he thinks he can finally offload it, he is swept back into old drama and new. Barry’s slow roll to boil is truly masterful and is beautiful if yet painful to watch. Mike Durkin is no newcomer and his skill is evident. His repartee with Barry is subtle comedy brilliance. When he’s off-stage, you cannot wait for him to return. Cullen Wheeler and Janelle Farias Sando round out the cast. It’s their push-pull on Victor that builds to the play’s crescendo. Yet, they both appear unmoved by him. Unphased and unaffected, the actors do not allow themselves to fully absorb the moment yet so articulate in the style of the play that you may not notice. Noelle McGrath’s organic staging and strict attention to detail makes this old play feel relevant.
In the end, the price paid for old treasures proves irrelevant. It is the price paid with time that can never be repaid.
“And he pays for it with years he cannot buy back with his tears,” The Door into Summer by Bill Martin released November 1967.
Click HERE for tickets.
Review by Nicole Jesson.
Published by Theatre Beyond Broadway on Feb 20th, 2025. All rights reserved.