Cost of Living examines two separate relationships that develop from places of mutual need. The first is between John, a wealthy and handsome graduate student with cerebral palsy, and his caregiver, the overworked, under-qualified and nearly homeless Jess. The second relationship includes the quadriplegic Ani and her unemployed ex-husband, Eddie. In both of the stories, which eventually collide, the biggest handicaps are the universal ones: fear and disconnection.
Cost of Living (2016). Playwright: Martyna Majok (Poland). Director: Tyne Rafaeli. Cast: Gregg Mozgala (John), Xochitl Romero (Jess), Felix Solis (Eddie), Katy Sullivan (Ani).
Martyna Majok’s Cost of Living won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as two 2018 Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Play. It premiered in Williamstown, Massachusetts at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2016, and had an Off-Broadway engagement in 2017.
“An honest, original work that invites audiences to examine diverse perceptions of privilege and human connection through two pairs of mismatched individuals: a former trucker and his recently paralyzed ex-wife, and an arrogant young man with cerebral palsy and his new caregiver.”
The performance is followed by Q&A. It is free and open to the public.
For more information, visit the festival website www.rehearsalfortruth.org.
This event will be broadcasted online, live on Zoom.us. RSVP is required to receive password for free viewing. RSVP online through Eventbrite.
ABOUT THE 2020 SPRING WEEKEND
The 2020 Spring Weekend: The Unimaginable of Reality is organized by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation (VHLF) and Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association (BBLA) in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York and Untitled Theater Company #61. Spring Weekend is part of the Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival honoring the playwright and human rights activist Vaclav Havel. The 2020 edition showcases contemporary European plays through live online readings performed and directed by New York City–based actors and directors. The program has been conceived in consultation with Attila Szabo, Deputy Director, Hungarian Theatre Museum and Institute; Vladislava Fekete, Director, Theatre Institute in Bratislava; Zuzana Ulicianska, Chair, the Slovak Center - International Association of Theatre Critics; and Tomek Smolarski, Performing Arts Programming, Polish Cultural Institute New York.
The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.