A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Price

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 3m

The brilliant, powerful and deeply moving play that marked the author's triumphant return to Broadway. The play examines with compassion, humor and rare insight, the relationship of two long-estranged brothers who meet after many years to dispose of their late father's belongings.

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 3m
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades
  • NOMINEE! 1968 Tony Award for Best Play

Details

Summary
As outlined in Variety: "…the conflict, the basic jealousy and the lifetime of, if not hatred, at least corrosive, though unacknowledged anger, is between two brothers, as well as resentment against a selfish, child-devouring father. The siblings meet, after a sixteen-year estrangement, in the attic of the family residence, where the old furniture is to be disposed of. The first is a policeman who sacrificed his education and probably a career as a scientist to care for his ruined, invalid father. The other, who arrives late, is an eminent surgeon who walked out on the demands of family to concentrate on medicine and personal success. Miller works up to the showdown scene slowly. The policeman and his wife first talk of the past and present to fill in some of the background. Then there is a very long, richly amusing, curiously revealing and enjoyable scene between the officer and a marvelously crotchety, humorous and wise old Jewish dealer who has come to buy the furniture but refuses to set a price without prolonged philosophic conversation. When the surgeon arrives, the brothers take a little time for amenities and feeling each other out before the basis of their long alienation and mutual bitterness emerges into short, blunt, enraged accusations. It is a taut, exciting and superbly theatrical scene, and it reveals the characters, including strengths and weaknesses, of the brothers to each other and themselves—as well as to the audience."
History
The Price premiered on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre in February of 1968 under the direction of Ulu Grosbard.
VICTOR FRANZ
ESTHER FRANZ
GREGORY SOLOMON
WALTER FRANZ
  • Setting The attic of a Manhattan Brownstone.
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

REVIEWS 

"…one of the most engrossing and entertaining plays that Miller has ever written. It is superbly, even flamboyantly theatrical…" - The New York Times

"…a challenging, gripping and moving drama." - Variety

"…his finest drama since The Crucible…" - NY Newsday

Licensing & Materials

  • Licensing available for professional groups only. Some restrictions apply.

Scripts

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Authors

Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller (1915-2005) was born in New York City and studied at the University of Michigan. 2015 marked the centenary of his birth. His plays include The Man Who Had All the Luck (1944), All My Sons (1947), Death of A Salesman (1949), The Crucible (1953), A View From the B ...

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