Arthur Miller Playwright

Cast

Mike Nussbaum * ^ Gregory Solomon

Kymberly Mellen * ^ Esther Franz

Roderick Peeples * Walter Franz

Bret Tuomi Victor Franz, through October 1

Terry Hamilton * ^ Victor Franz, starting October 21

Production Team

Josephine Kearns * ^ Stage Manager

Maren Robinson + Dramaturg

Brian Sidney Bembridge # ^ Scenic and Lighting Designer

Louis Contey ^ Director

Andrew Hansen ^ Sound Designer

Dennis William Grimes * ^ Assistant Director
Mary O'Dowd Co-Properties Designer
Jaclyn Holsey * Cover Stage Manager
Sarah Joe White Costume Designer
Amy Peter Properties Designer
Elise Kauzlaric Dialect Coach
Sara Thornton Production Assistant, Wardrobe Supervisor
Dina Spoerl Lobby Display Graphic Designer

Reviews

The Wall Street Journal

September 10, 2015

“So unremittingly taut that I found it all but impossible to look away from the stage long enough to scribble notes on what I was seeing. … Not only is The Price better than Death of A Salesman, it’s the best thing that Miller ever wrote … I’ve never seen four actors listen so closely to their onstage colleagues: They seem to hang on one another’s words, thereby drawing you into the sticky web of mistrust in which their characters are trapped. … I doubt I’ll live to see a better production of The Price. This is what theater is for.“

—TERRY TEACHOUT

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Chicago Sun Times

August 28, 2015

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. “First things first. It is time to declare actor Mike Nussbaum the Eighth Wonder of the World. Watch the 91-year-old actor as he moves through TimeLine Theatre’s gripping revival of The Price … and you are treated to something altogether rare and remarkable. It goes far beyond a matter of masterful artistry fully sustained and magnified over the decades. It is a combination of insight, experience, timing and, yes, pure magic. … And he is framed by a stellar production – ideally directed by Louis Contey, and featuring a trio of terrific actors (Bret Tuomi, Kimberly Mellen and Roderick Peeples) with a genuine flair for capturing the inner resentments that are such crucial elements in the DNA of Miller’s characters.”

—Hedy Weiss

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Theater Mania

September 11, 2015

“As riveting as an action-packed thriller … TimeLine Theatre’s production is defined by a blistering urgency and propulsive forward momentum. Visually sumptuous and emotionally rich, it’s an explosive opening volley in the jam-packed fall theater season. … Contey’s cast is ferociously good … Though it’s early in the season to be thinking about Top 10 lists, it’s tough to imagine The Price being omitted from those year-end rosters.“

—Catey Sullivan

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Chicago Reader

November 22, 2015

RECOMMENDED. “Louis Contey’s careful staging unfolds on a set (designed by Brian Sidney Bembridge) featuring old furniture stacked precariously to the rafters—an apt visual metaphor for the weight and wobbliness of the past. … Kymberly Mellen conveys a heartbreaking desperation as Victor’s ambitious wife, and the remarkable 91-year-old Mike Nussbaum supplies an impish, untrustworthy charm as the dealer.“

—Zac Thompson

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Time Out Chicago

September 1, 2015

“[Mike] Nussbaum, with well over 50 years on Chicago stages and with a few years on his character, is a delight as one of Miller’s more comic characters … Beyond Nussbaum, Louis Contey’s production features terrifically specific performances from Roderick Peeples as the armistice-seeking Walter and Bret Tuomi as the suspicious Victor … Kymberly Mellen is equally fine as Victor’s frustrated wife, Esther.”

— KRIS VIRE

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Windy City Times

September 2, 2015

“Lovingly and astutely revived by director Louis Contey … Watching this quartet hash out a price for the antiques all the while dredging out long-held assumptions and life-long grudges is great dramatic stuff. … By producing The Price now, TimeLine smartly taps into the current debates about income inequality and the value of placing one profession’s worth over another. The performances are all great … In particular, it’s a wonder to watch Nussbaum hit it out of the park with a performance makes us all wish that we could be as smart, sharp and active at his age.”

—Scott C. Morgan

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New City

August 27, 2015

RECOMMENDED. “A masterpiece so grotesquely, richly and unbearably detailed that it might make you vomit. And I mean that in the best way possible. … The Price is blessed with four stunning talents, each possessing an unshakable commitment to the modern resonance of the text. … [Kymberly Mellen’s] performance ought to be required viewing for every young, aspiring actor.”

—Kevin Greene

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Around Town Chicago

September 6, 2015

FIVE STARS. “Timeline has done it again! This amazing theater company brings the seldom done The Price by Arthur Miller to its stage. … If you have never seen Nussbaum on stage, you owe it to yourself to buy a ticket for this masterpiece. (I smell a Jeff Award for best supporting actor for this one). … While the cast and direction are amazing, the technical parts of this production are wonderful as well. This is a prop show (Mary O’Dowd and Amy Peter are magicians) with wall to wall and floor to ceiling items. They even have a contest so you can try to guess the actual value of what you see. Andrew Hansen’s sound and Sarah Jo White’s costumes all made for the total production being one that one should make a point of seeing.”

—Alan Bresloff

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Chicago Tribune

August 28, 2015

“Helplessness is at the core of [Arthur Miller’s] The Price. The Price was the last play written by this great playwright to achieve what one might reasonably call popular success, but it’s still a tough and embittered drama that is far from easy to stage. TimeLine Theatre Company, which opened its new production Thursday night, has the benefit of one Mike Nussbaum, an actor older than most of the furniture in the show yet younger and sprightlier than any armoire. At once puckish and deeply sad, and cast to age, Nussbaum plays the nonagenarian furniture dealer Gregory Solomon … Act 1, wherein Solomon makes his case that all old furniture must be viewed separately from emotion, is a whole other matter. So are the play’s last few moments, when the rich ambivalence of the old furniture dealer starts to ooze like the lacquered finish on an ancient umbrella stand. These are scenes to treasure.“

—Chris Jones

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Dueling Critics

“This is a drama of rue and regrets and recrimination … The play is elegantly written … It is passionate, it is probing, often it is funny. … The four actors in this are skilled veterans, who put a profound amount of thought and passion into their performance. … The audience was completely rapt.”

—elly Kleiman and Jonathan Abarbanel

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Chicago Theatre Reviews

August 31, 2015

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. “Sometimes a theatergoer attends a play, produced by a topnotch company, confident that he’ll be impressed by what he’s about to see and hear. But sometimes even the most renowned theatre company can offer unexpected surprises. Such is the case with TimeLine’s current production … Under Louis Contey’s expert direction, this excellent production surpasses the power and brilliance of even this company’s previous offerings. It’s a masterpiece in every way. … This production should not be missed. It’s one that Chicago audiences will remember and be talking about for years to come.“

—Colin Douglas

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Stage and Cinema

August 31, 2015

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. “This astonishingly elaborate treasure trove assembled by set designer Brian Sidney Bembridge can be seen and still not believed! … As TimeLine Theatre’s magnificent revival (celebrating Miller’s centennial) makes palpable in minutes, Miller’s “price” is very volatile. Because, like the stakes in all his scripts, it’s really a moral measure. … A seemingly private, personal piece … like All My Sons and A View from the Bridge, it’s a conscience keeper: The Price indicts the American dream as a greed quest, dividing and conquering loved ones who badly need better bonds.”

—Lawrence Bommer

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ADA GREY REVIEWS FOR YOU

August 31, 2015

RECOMMENDED. “I thought this was a really good show overall. … This is not really a story that is aimed at kids my age because it is all about the problems of going into your middle ages, but I’m going to show you a kid’s perspective of this. … People who would like this show are people who like verbal action, dramatic families, and Hershey’s bars. … I think that people should definitely go see this show because it was a very engaging play and I very much enjoyed it, especially when I had a chance to think more about it after.“

—Ada Grey

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Buzz News Chicago

August 28, 2015

RECOMMENDED. “Director Louis Contey’s intimate production feels fresh and modern. … The small ensemble here works well together. Kymberly Mellen as money-hungry Esther is both aggravatingly pathetic and also heartbreakingly true in a final moment so slight you might miss it. … The Price at TimeLine Theatre is a highly polished, and well designed play that will introduce a new generation to a minor, but no less important Arthur Miller classic.“

—John Accrocco

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Chicago Stage Standard

August 31, 2015

RECOMMENDED. “With the four characters in place, [Arthur] Miller delivers a beautiful family drama about survival, forgiveness, and the toll that caring for loved ones can take. … [Mike Nussbaum’s] presence, timing, and energy is unbelievable to watch and really, the only way to fully understand how superb he is, is to see him in person.“

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Chicago Splash

RECOMMENDED. “Mike Nussbaum, who at 90+ is reported to be the oldest actor performing on Chicago stages today, is so endearing as Gregory Solomon … that you may lose sight of how the performances by the rest of the cast of The Price are up to Nussbaum’s high bar. The two and half hours of this engaging dialogue flies by remarkably quickly with the aid of stellar direction (Louis Contey) and a most able cast.“

—Amy Munice

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ArtsAndAbout.com

October 15, 2015

“Timeline has cast four superb actors–including Chicago theatre legend Mike Nussbaum–who animate the play’s charged emotional and moral complexity in scenes pulsing with hurtful accusation, shrewd bargaining and white-hot anger. … Director Louis Contey deserves high marks for shaping the production and never letting the tension flag. You will be sorry if you miss this outstanding revival.”

—Tom Mullaney

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Chicago Critic

September 2, 2015

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. “Timeline’s production, under the direction of Louis Contey, is an amazing confluence of superb actors, fully invested in unraveling their characters’ stories. … Though conventional aspirations have changed, The Price still strikes to the core of what people want for themselves.”

—Jacob Davis

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Features

The New York Times

October 15, 2014

Patrick Healy charts The Price actor Mike Nussbaum’s decade-spanning career in theatre and film.

—Patrick Healy

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WTTW

October 15, 2014

An interview with The Price actor Mike Nussbaum about the rise of his career on the Chicago stages.

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Chicago Magazine

September 22, 2014

The Price cast member, Mike Nussbaum, talks about his theatrical career, his friendship with David Mamet and his experiences in Chicago both on stage and off.

—Bryan Smith

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Forward

November 9, 2015

Writer Laura Hodes interviews Nussbaum about his experiences as the oldest working Jewish actor in America, and his character choices in The Price.

—Laura Hodes

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