Cost of Living (play)
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| Cost of Living | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Martyna Majok |
| Date premiered | June 29, 2016 |
| Place premiered | Williamstown Theatre Festival |
| Subject | Relationships between disabled and non-disabled persons |
| Genre | Drama |
Cost of Living is a dramatic stage play written by Polish-born American playwright Martyna Majok. It premiered in Williamstown, Massachusetts, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival on June 29, 2016, and had an Off-Broadway engagement in 2017. The play won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as two Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Play.
The play examines two pairs of relationships between disabled and able persons: one between John, a graduate student with cerebral palsy and his female caregiver, Jess, and the other between Ani, who became a quadriplegic following a tragic accident and her ex-husband, Eddie, an unemployed truck driver.[1][2]
Notable casts
Gregg Mozgala and Katy Sullivan, the actors who originated the disabled characters, have those disabilities in real life.[3]
| Role | Williamstown Theatre Festival 2016[4] | New York City Center 2017[5] | Broadway 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jess | Rebecca Naomi Jones | Jolly Abraham | Kara Young |
| John | Gregg Mozgala | ||
| Eddie | Wendell Pierce | Victor Williams | David Zayas |
| Ani | Katy Sullivan | ||
Production history
Cost of Living was expanded from the 2015 two-character one-act Majok play John, Who's Here From Cambridge by adding a second couple.[6] John, Who's Here From Cambridge ran Off-Broadway from May 28 – June 20, 2015.[7] Cost of Living made its world premiere during a June 29 – July 10, 2016, run at the Williamstown Theatre Festival.[4] It then moved to New York City Center for a production by Manhattan Theatre Club that had previews beginning on May 16, 2017, and officially opened on June 7, 2017.[5] Williamstown Theatre Festival co-produced the Off-Broadway debut with the Manhattan Theatre Club.[8] In 2018, Williamstown Theatre Festival announced that they had commissioned a musical adaptation from Michael John LaChiusa.[9] The play made its Broadway debut in the fall of 2022 at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.[10][11]
| Theatre | Opening Date | Closing Date | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown | June 29, 2016 | July 10, 2016 | Premiere production |
| New York City Center, Off-Broadway | June 7, 2017 | July 16, 2017 | Off-Broadway debut |
| Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway | October 3, 2022 | November 6, 2022 | Broadway debut |
