Sins of the past
Syracuse Stage’s production of Arthur Miller’s ‘The Price’ captures a brief moment in a Manhattan family’s life in 1967, but given the deeply rooted familial struggles, the moment is anything but insignificant.
When the home and belongings of a dead man are about to be destroyed, his two sons must reconnect with their past – and with one another – to sell the property and move on with their lives. Victor (Richard McWilliams), one of the brothers, is a city police officer who struggles financially with his wife, Esther (Carmen Roman), after choosing to take care of his dying father over continuing his education. The other brother, Walter (Tony DeBruno), is a successful doctor.
Victor calls in Gregory Solomon (Kenneth Tigar), a hilarious Russian-Yiddish appraiser, to get a price for his father’s furniture lot. Walter also shows up, bringing with him the emotional angst the family buried for so long.
The entirety of the play takes place on one floor of a crowded brownstone, which is overflowing with furniture and relics of the past. Scott Bradley’s scenic design has furniture hanging from the walls to give the illusion of stacks and stacks of old fixtures. The design is intriguing and unexpected, making the stagnant room appear far more dynamic than a one-room set normally would.
The costumes are not overly exciting given the small cast and the fly-on-the-wall script. But costume designer Laurie Churba Kohn’s choice for Esther’s suit is not to be missed. The color and fit of the 1960s suit sets the time period for the beginning of the play.
It is the acting that makes the production. Unlike Arthur Miller’s better-known plays ‘The Crucible’ and ‘Death of a Salesman,’ ‘The Price’ is less about plot and more about the characters. Thus, for those without a genuine interest in theatre and character development, the story itself is far from enthralling. For those looking for a script that jumps from scene to scene with explosion after explosion, it is best to wait this one out. But for theatergoers who can appreciate an actor’s strength, ‘The Price’ is spot on.
The actors DeBruno and McWilliams are eerily unsettling as the brothers in the play. Though the two are similar on stage in presence and motion, they are different enough to explain their different life choices and aspirations. From beginning to end, McWilliams displays Victor’s pain on his face. Once the second act rolls around, DeBruno juxtaposes McWilliams in a brilliant fashion.
The audience easily chose the 89-year-old appraiser Solomon as the favorite. The Yiddish-Russian accent is dead-on and appropriately hilarious. Critics often refer to Solomon as Arthur Miller’s most humorous character, and Tigar takes that to heart. The bumbling appraiser just wants a damn harp (and a Hershey’s candy bar), and you want him to have both.
Carmen Roman as Victor’s wife truly holds the play together. Roman’s vocal inflection was brilliant. Her rich reactions support the three men and create a believable framework for the story. It’s to Roman’s credit that the play ultimately works, as she keeps everything down to earth. She’s close enough to the conflict to share in the pain, but removed enough to provide the play with an underlying sense of loneliness.
‘The Price’ is now playing at Syracuse Stage and runs through Feb. 14.
Published on January 31, 2010 at 12:00 pm
