By Martyna Majok
Directed by Jeffrey L. Page
A Pulitzer Prize Winner – Winter 2024

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and just recently on Broadway, Cost of Living traces two relationships: one between a wealthy graduate student with cerebral palsy and his female caregiver, the other between a woman recovering from a terrible accident being tended to by her ex-husband. Heartfelt, funny, and deeply moving, this exquisitely written play examines the fiscal and emotional cost of human connection.

Majok’s script…readily breaks your heart, drags you through hurt and then kisses you on the forehead, sending you off with a laugh. This play left me breathless…It seems as if the tears, the chuckles, the full body ache of feeling is the currency of an outstanding work of art.”
The New York Times

Content Warning: Intimate themes and discussions of physical trauma, non-sexual nudity

Estimated Runtime: 1 hour and 50 minutes with no intermission

Ross Beschler in COST OF LIVING. Photo by Mark Garvin
Christian Prentice and Cianna Castro in COST OF LIVING. Photo by Mark Garvin
Ross Beschler and Rachel Handler in COST OF LIVING. Photo by Mark Garvin
Rachel Handler and Ross Beschler in COST OF LIVING. Photo by Mark Garvin
Cianna Castro and Christian Prentice in COST OF LIVING. Photo by Mark Garvin
L to R: Christian Prentice, Cianna Castro, Ross Beschler, and Rachel Handler, Photo by Ashley Smith of Wide Eyed Studios, Photo location courtesy of The Drake
L to R: Christian Prentice and Cianna Castro, Photo by Ashley Smith of Wide Eyed Studios, Photo location courtesy of The Drake
L to R: Ross Beschler and Rachel Handler, Photo by Ashley Smith of Wide Eyed Studios, Photo location courtesy of The Drake

Martyna Majok (playwright) was born in Bytom, Poland and raised in Jersey and Chicago. She was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and received a nomination for Best Play at the 2023 Tony Awards for Cost of Living. Other plays include Sanctuary City, Queens, and Ironbound, which have been produced across American and international stages. Other awards include the Obie Award for Playwriting, the Hull-Warriner Award, the Academy of Arts and Letters’ Benjamin Hadley Danks Award for Exceptional Playwriting, the Off-Broadway Alliance Best New Play Award, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding New Play, the Hermitage Greenfield Prize as the first female recipient in drama, the Champions of Change Award from the NYC Mayor’s Office, the Francesca Primus Prize, two Jane Chambers Playwriting Awards, the Lanford Wilson Prize, the Lilly Award’s Stacey Mindich Prize, the Helen Merrill Emerging Playwright Award, the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding Original New Play, the Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award, the ANPF Women’s Invitational Prize, the David Calicchio Prize, the Global Age Project Prize, the NYTW 2050 Fellowship, the NNPN Smith Prize for Political Playwriting, and the Merage Foundation Fellowship for The American Dream. Martyna studied at Yale School of Drama, Juilliard, University of Chicago, and Jersey public schools. She was a 2012-2013 NNPN playwright-in-residence, the 2015-2016 PoNY Fellow at the Lark Play Development Center, and a 2018-2019 Hodder Fellow at Princeton University. Martyna is currently writing a musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby, with music by Florence Welch and Thomas Bartlett, and developing TV and film for Plan B, Pastel, and MRC.

Jeffrey L. Page (director), an Emmy-nominated director and choreographer celebrated for his dynamic theater and dance direction, earned the Douglas and Ethel Watt Critics’ Choice Award for his vibrant choreography in the 1776 Broadway Revival. Collaborating with icons like Beyoncé and influencing productions from Memphis to Ain’t Misbehavin’, Page’s work resonates globally. His film credits include Making Micheaux (director) and Freedom (choreographer). Academically distinguished as the first African American to receive The Juilliard School’s Marcus Institute Fellowship, Jeffrey also imparts knowledge at Harvard and The New School. As the leader of Movin’ Legacy, Page’s artistry continues to innovate with projects like The Trojan Women, solidifying his stature in modern performing arts. | @jeffreylpage | www.jeffreylpage.com

Christopher Ash (Scenic Designer)  Equally at home designing projections, scenery, and lighting for theater, opera, and dance, as well as direction and cinematography for film, he has had work produced in 17 countries and recognized for 16 awards. He made his Broadway debut in 2015 as assistant scenic designer for On the Town and has since contributed to productions of New York, New York, Sunday in the Park with George, Saint Joan, Prince of Broadway, An Act of God, The Crucible, and Network the last two directed by Ivo van Hove. He recently premiered Dead Man Walking and Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera, as well as the ballet Callas La Divina for the Municipal in Santiago, Chile where he was recognized for a Critics Choice award. He has created work for numerous regional American theaters, as well as for productions at the Paris Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Houston Grand, and Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ballet Hispanico, Houston Ballet among others. He is a graduate of SUNY Fredonia, and the Yale School of Drama. Instagram @christopherash1

Tiffany Bacon (costume designer) is the Creative & Production Director for WURD Radio, began her career in radio in 1990 at WRTI. At Power 99FM she created Inner City, a show that broke new artists like Jill Scott, Musiq Soulchild, and more. Tiffany Bacon is the co-author of a health & wellness program for African American teens. Talking Matters is currently being tested for effectiveness by the Research & Evaluation Group at Public Health Management Corporation. Tiffany is also a freelance costume designer whose work has been featured at Quintessence Theatre Group, The Lantern Theater Company, Theatre Exile, & Passage Theatre, to name a few. Tiffany is the 2022 winner of the Broadwayworld.com Philadelphia Best Costume Design for a Play or Musical for the Theatre in the X production of Dreamgirls.

Natalie Robin (lighting designer) is a lighting designer, labor organizer, and educator. She is the full-time organizer of United Scenic Artis, Local 829, IATSE, of which she is a proud, longtime member, and believes everyone should have the protections of a union. Previously, she taught at several institutions of higher education. Collaborations include The Wanderers at City Theater Company, Backing Track at the Arden, The Sorceress for the National Yiddish Theatre-Folksbiene, Dionysus Was Such a Nice Man at the Wilma, and both Rachel and Awake and Sing at the Quintessence Theater Group. | @natalierobinld | www.natalierobinlighting.com

Jordan McCree (sound designer) is an artist based in Philadelphia. Their most recent collaborations include The BFG (Arden Theatre Company), Grief Hotel (Clubbed Thumb), Sandblasted (Theatre Horizon), Eternal Life Part 1 (The Wilma Theater), Empathitrax (Philadelphia Theatre Company), and the 2021 World Premiere of Fat Ham (The Wilma Theater), as well as the short film The World Takes and feature film The Karamazovs. In 2022, they were a grant recipient of the 1/52 Project. Jordan is a member of the Philly-based, Barrymore Award-winning hip-hop collective ILL DOOTS. Their project, Co-Missions EP, is available now on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal, and Bandcamp. #ILLMOVEMENT | ILLDOOTS.COM | @j_o_r_d_n

Leslie Ann Boyden* (stage manager) is a Philadelphia-based stage manager, having previously worked with the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, Theatre Horizon, The Wilma Theater, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Azuka Theatre, Simpatico Theatre, Shakespeare in Clark Park, Act II Playhouse, Arden Theatre Company, Millbrook Playhouse, and Hedgerow Theatre. She graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 2014 with a B.A. in Theatre and Drama.

Jess McPhillips (stage manager) People’s Light: True West, Alice in Wonderland: A Musical Panto, Grand Horizons. Arden Theatre Company: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Radio Golf, Into The Woods, Backing Track, A Streetcar Named Desire, Cabaret, A Year with Frog and Toad; Act II Playhouse: Souvenir, Looking Over the President’s Shoulder, Cafe Puttanesca, Same Time Next Year, Biloxi Blues, Tuesdays with Morrie; 1812 Productions: Hope and Gravity, This Is The Week That Is. Jess is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association.

Taylor Williams, CSA: Artios Award Winning Casting Director. Select Credits. Film: The Front Room (A24), Omni Loop (2am Films), Good One (Smudge Films). Broadway: The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window, POTUS: Or…Keep Him Alive, Slave Play, Is This a Room & Dana H, What the Constitution Means to Me. New Media: amfAR’s The Great Work Begins (featuring scenes from Tony Kushner’s Angels in America), and Ratatouille: the TikTok Musical benefit for the Actors Fund. Taylor is the resident casting director at Page 73 Productions. She has been involved in casting various productions throughout the United States, including Stereophonic (Playwrights Horizons), Daniel Fish’s Oklahoma! (Fisher Center and National Tour), Aleshea Harris’ Is God Is (Soho Rep), Daniel Fish’s Most Happy (Fisher Center and Williamstown), Branden Jacob-Jenkins An Octoroon (Soho Rep and TFANA).  Upcoming: Sam Gold and Amy Herzog’s An Enemy of the People with Jeremy Strong, Michael Imperioli on Broadway, Teeth at Playwrights Horizons. TaylorWilliamsCasting.com

Abby Weissman (Intimacy Coordinator) is an intimacy professional, director, educator, arts administrator (and more!) based in Philadelphia. She is a company member of Revolution Shakespeare, and a proud alumnus of Northwestern University and the Arden Professional Apprentice Program. Most recently, she has spent her time teaching consent at colleges across the country with Speak About It, directing light opera with Penn Singers and the Vocal Academy of Opera in Bodrum, Turkey, and coordinating free teen performing arts programming with Opera Philadelphia. Training includes: Theatrical Intimacy Education, Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, and Intimacy Coordinators of Color. Love to the BBLGS.

Ross Beschler* (Eddie) is a founding member of the Wilma Theatre’s Hothouse ensemble and a member of the site-specific performance collective Die-Cast. Ross teaches voice and acting at Rowan University. Select credits include Twelfth Night, The Cherry Orchard, Minor Character, Describe the Night, Bootycandy, and Our Class (Wilma); Indecent (Arden); Maple & Vine (City Theatre); End Days (People’s Light); Hunter Gatherers (Exile); Delirium (EgoPo); Baal & Dix, La Ronde (Die-Cast); Eat Your Young (Boston Playwrights Theatre); Kate Crackeruts (The Flea); The Germans in Paris (Verse Theatre Manhattan). TV: Blue Bloods. Film: Flight of the Cardinal. MFA, Temple University. | Instagram: @rossosaurus23 | www.RossBeschler.com

Cianna Castro (Jess) is an artist based out of Newark, NJ and a graduate from the Temple University Theater Program. She is so excited to be making her PTC debut! Some of her favorite credits include: Fabulation; or the Re-Education of the Undine (Temple Theaters), All My Mothers Dream in Spanish (Azuka Theater), and The Ways of White Folks (Ego Po Classic Theater). She is the recipient of the Mental Health Awareness Award from the Garifuna International Indigenous Film Festival. Cianna has just finished creating season one of her Natural Hair Series, which you can find on her YouTube channel. In her spare time, you can find Cianna rock climbing or reading somewhere in a corner. For Mami. | ciannacastro.com | www.youtube.com/@dalmatian.c

Rachel Handler* (Ani) is an actor/writer based in NYCSince joining the disabled community she’s found a passion for writing, producing, and advocating for inclusion in every project she creates. Favorite theatre credits include OFF-BROADWAY: The Lucky Star, Alice Bliss (musical reading) REGIONAL: Bucks County Playhouse: The Music Man, Oklahoma, My Fair Lady. Select TV credits: Interview With the Vampire (AMC), NCIS: New Orleans (CBS), Law & Order: SVU (NBC), New Amsterdam (NBC). Rachel won the AT&T Underrepresented Filmmaker Award for her short Committed, and the Sundance Co//ab Monthly Challenge for her script The A Doesn’t Stand for Accessible. @Bionic.Brunette on Instagram and TikTok | @RachelHandler on Twitter/X | www.RachelAHandler.com

 

Christian Prentice* (John) NEW YORK: Off-Broadway: The Blue Man Group. REGIONAL: The Cleveland Playhouse: The Life of Galileo | Cleveland Public Theatre: Fever/Dream | The Rose Bowl: Apollo 11 – The Immersive Live Show | Sierra Madre Playhouse: 4000 Miles | The Road Theatre Company: At The Table. FILM: Mank (Netflix); Proximity (Amazon); Cabrini (coming to theaters, Spring 2024). TV: Future Man (Hulu), The Neighborhood (CBS). | Follow along on Instagram @christianprentice | christianprentice.com

Katie Samson (Accessibility Consultant) is a connector, disability self-advocate, and storyteller. As the Director of Education at Art-Reach, Samson provides accessibility and inclusion training and professional development programs throughout the US. Katie was the spokesperson for KSF (2001-2021), a foundation that funded “quality of life” programs for people with spinal cord injury. Using her lived experience as a quadriplegic who is also hard of hearing and her previous teaching in Disability Studies, she advises organizations and universities on many aspects of Disability Identity and Culture. She is a board member of World CAFÉ Live and Team Sunshine Performance. She loves theater, birding, and all things nature.

Charlotte Hill (Music Recordings) is a chamber musician, songwriter, administrator, and teacher. Holding degrees in Piano Performance, Politics, and Environmental Studies from Oberlin College & Conservatory, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in piano at Stony Brook University. Her major mentors include Gilbert Kalish, Haewon Song, Angela Park, and Rie Matsumoto. Alongside her mother Meg, Charlotte is proud to co-run Music at Port Milford, an international chamber music festival and summer school. When not in front of the 88 keys or sending summer camp emails, Charlotte brings her musical voice to her New York-based songwriting project, The Mops.

Honorary Producers
Alice L. George & Lou Oschmann
Gayle & David Smith

*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States