Arthur Miller is fascinated by the dynamics of the American family. Fathers and sons. Wives and husbands. Siblings of all sorts.
The Pulitzer-winning writer was majorly influenced by the tensions that inevitably develop between family members — and how they were exasperated by the particular economic, social and political pressures of mid-century America.
These investments are on full display in “The Price,” a Miller rarity now receiving a lively production at Red Bank’s Two River Theater under the direction of Brandon J. Dirden.
Victor Franz (Kevin Isola) is a humble cop who has just finished a long day of work and must now deal with family weight he’s been ignoring for years. His father died long ago. But in the attic of a New York brownstone where he spent his final years remains a trove of furniture (Neil Prince’s scenic design is wonderful in its meticulous clutter). With the building slated for demolition, the furniture has to go. So Victor has contacted a dealer, Gregory Solmon (Peter Van Wagner), in the hopes of making a quick cash deal and sweeping away the furniture and its memories.
The first act plays out more or less congenially. Victor and his wife, Esther (Andrea Syglowski), have a pleasant enough conversation about life and some shared struggles while they wait for Solomon. Solomon finally appears and Esther heads off to other business while Victor and Solomon engage in a prolonged negotiation before arriving at an agreement.
Enter Walter (Karl Kenzler). Much of what happens during Solomon and Victor’s conversation is exposition about Victor’s family. We learn his deceased father spent much of his life as a wealthy man before the stock market crash ruined him financially and psychologically. We learn Victor lived in the attic with his father while he was slowly dying. And we learn Victor’s brother who was off in medical school and then busy building a successful practice while Victor cared for their father.
The two haven’t seen each other in more than twenty years. Victor has called about the furniture, but has only been able to leave messages with Walter’s staff. It turns out Walter has gotten the messages and decided to show up just as it seems like the deal might be done.
Act 2 starts at a simmer and grows to a boil as long-festering family stress rises to the surface and explodes. Quickly the furniture and its potential price become only proxies for the battle between brothers over the right to define themselves, their roles in the family’s history and their shared responsibilities for their current stations in life.
It takes a shouting match of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf” proportions before anything gets anywhere close to settled. But at the very least the brothers seize every opportunity to air their grievances.
“The Price,” in truth, is not Arthur Miller at his best. Premiering in 1968, the play marks a transition into the later portion of the playwright’s career, well after having made his mark with masterpieces like “Death of a Salesman,” “All My Sons,” and “The Crucible.” Considered in light of those tightly focused and sharply wrought plays, “The Price” meanders, and its dramaturgy frays at the seams.
Victor and Walter certainly each have considerable investment in their quarrel, but the play does not do much to welcome audiences into the family dynamics. We can pity these characters and hope for their sake that they might find a resolution. But Miller makes it difficult to empathize with them by not offering some more universal resonance to the dispute other than a loose echo of prodigal son themes floating throughout an overly long play.
Still, there is always value in seeing the more rarely produced plays in the American theater repertoire, and Two River’s production of “The Price” rewards that effort. Isola and Kenzler are excellent individually and as a pair in defining these characters’ understandings of themselves so clearly that by the time the play explodes the clash seems natural and inevitable. Syglowski gives Esther a dignity that makes the character a significant force in the play. And even though Miller loses sight of Solomon for much of the second act, Van Wagner is a joy throughout Act 1 and ensures that Solomon’s contributions to Act 2 are impactful.
“The Price” pales in comparison to Miller’s monumental earlier work, but this production offers a rare opportunity to see how the playwright’s treatment of his master theme evolved as he grew. Miller loved to explore every hidden corner of family tension. This is a play that wonders what emotional and psychological price we pay for the responsibilities we take on — or avoid — in our families.
Two River Theater Company, 21 Bridge Avenue, Red Bank
Tickets available online (http://www.tworivertheater.org/). Running through June 29.
Patrick Maley may be reached at patrickjmaley@gmail.com. Find him on Twitter and TikTok @PatrickJMaley. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.