WBGO's Doug Doyle moderated a live panel discussion about Two River Theater's production of Arthur Miller's The Price. (Audio above)
The panel consisted of The Price director and Two River Theater favorite Brandon J. Dirden and two of the stars of the play, Andrea Syglowski (Esther Franz) and Kevin Isola (Victor Franz).
The Price runs through June 29 at the Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater at Two River Theater in Red Bank.
In the Tony Award-nominated play that was performed on Broadway in 1968, siblings, Victor and Walter Franz, duel in one of Arthur Miller’s (Death of A Salesman, The Crucible) most personal plays. The estranged brothers must clear out the remnants of their gilded upbringing before their childhood home is torn down. As they negotiate the value of their past, they must reckon with the true cost of a more hopeful future.
During the live discussion this past week at Two River Theater, Andrea Syglowski says she is thrilled to be a part of this production of The Price and how it's still relevant today.
"I think that's the mark of any great art. That's what make it classic. It's specific yet universal and totally timely. There's probably a part of this play or an aspect of this play everyone can relate to. This play could have been written now I think."
Both Syglowski and Kevin Isola have performed on Broadway, but Isola says playing Victor Franz in The Price has been one of his favorite roles.
"I'm so grateful to Toms River Theater, Justin Waldman, Brandon J. DIrden for the invitation to be of part of this production. Every night, this play feels like Everest. It's just a non-stop climb for two-plus hours for everyone on stage."
Isola and Syglowski praised Dirden for his directing abilities and the way he makes the actors feel so immensely appreciated.
Dirden described the cast that includes Karl Kenzler (Walter Franz) and Peter Van Wagner (Gregory Solomon) as amazing.
Dirden admits when he got the call from Two River Theater's Artistic Director Justin Waldman, he paused for a moment.
"I was terrified of this play, which is all the more reason to do it. The structure of it all. It's brilliant and there's so many booby traps built into the construction of it. If you are an artist that is merely concerned emotion or ego, there's plenty of traps to show off your skillset, but the audience wouldn't get a word of this if you fell into those traps. It's much harder to connect to other artists in this very dangerous way these characters are trying to connect to each other because the casms between these characters are so wide. It's really tricky stuff and I had not directed an Arthur Miller play."
You can get more information about The Price here.
