''Cost of Living'' is a dramatic

stage play A play is a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than mere reading. The creator of a play is known as a playwright. Plays are staged at various levels, ranging ...

written by Polish-born American playwright

Martyna Majok Martyna Majok ( ) is a Polish-born American playwright who received the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''Cost of Living''. She emigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in New Jersey. Majok studied playwriting at the Yale ...

. It premiered in

Williamstown, Massachusetts Williamstown is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. Located in Berkshire County, the town is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts metropolitan statis ...

, at the

Williamstown Theatre Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairman David C. Bryant. ...

on June 29, 2016, and had an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

engagement in 2017. The play won the 2018

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

as well as two

Lucille Lortel Awards The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres ...

, including Outstanding Play.

Synopsis

The play examines two pairs of relationships between disabled and able persons: one between John, a graduate student with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

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.

Notable casts

Gregg Mozgala and

Katy Sullivan Katy Sullivan is an American actress, producer, writer, and Paralympic track and field athlete and US record holder. Early life Sullivan was born a bilateral transfemoral amputee, missing both lower legs. She grew up in Alabama, pursuing interes ...

, the actors who originated the disabled characters, have those disabilities in real life.

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. ''John, Who's Here From Cambridge'' ran Off-Broadway from May 28 – June 20, 2015. ''Cost of Living'' made its world premiere during a June 29 – July 10, 2016, run at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. It then moved to

New York City Center New York City Center (previously known as the Mecca Temple, City Center of Music and Drama, and the New York City Center 55th Street Theater) is a performing arts center at 131 West 55th Street (Manhattan), 55th Street between Sixth Avenue, Six ...

for a production by

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Lynne Meadow has been the company’s Artistic Director and visionary since 1972. Barry Grove joined the company in 19 ...

that had previews beginning on May 16, 2017, and officially opened on June 7, 2017. Williamstown Theatre Festival co-produced the Off-Broadway debut with the Manhattan Theatre Club. In 2018, Williamstown Theatre Festival announced that they had commissioned a musical adaptation from

Michael John LaChiusa Michael John LaChiusa (born July 24, 1962) is an American musical theatre and opera composer, lyricist, and librettist. He is best known for musically esoteric shows such as '' Hello Again'', '' Marie Christine'', '' The Wild Party'', and '' See W ...

. The play made its

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

debut in the fall of 2022 at Manhattan Theatre Club's

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, formerly the Biltmore Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 261 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp i ...

Awards and nominations

''Cost of Living'' earned three

nominations on April 4, 2018. It eventually won in two of the three categories, tying with ''School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play'' for Outstanding Play and earning Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for Gregg Mozgala. On April 16, the play earned Majok, a

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

and

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

graduate, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her work that explores "diverse perceptions of privilege and human connection through two pairs of mismatched individuals". The play received 4

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...

s nominations. It also received both a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

and a

Drama League Award The Drama League Awards, created in 1922, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing. Each May, the awards ...

nomination. Although, ''Cost of Living'' received no Off Broadway Alliance Awards in 2018, Director

Jo Bonney Jo Bonney is an American theater director who has worked Off-Broadway, regionally and internationally, primarily focused on the development of new plays. Early life and education Bonney was born in Australia, the daughter of a Qantas airline p ...

earned one of the Legend of Off Broadway Awards from the organization in 2018.

Notes

External links

* {{PulitzerPrize Drama 2001–2025 Plays and musicals about disability Pulitzer Prize for Drama–winning works 2016 plays