Arthur Miller’s The Price

"Director Terry Kinney keeps us constantly pondering the connection between the past and the present in his straightforward production, which allows the playwright's words to come to the fore...Everything is highly realistic, especially the performances...'The Price' only begins to feel draining in its operatic second act...It all could easily become tedious coming from lesser actors, but it never does here. Instead, Hecht, DeVito, Ruffalo, and Shalhoub lead us in an emotional workout." Full Review

"Still reverberates with meaning for the 2010s. Let’s just say that the dramatic themes and human conflicts are timeless. Kinney directs a superlative cast consisting of Ruffalo, Shalhoub, Hecht, and DeVito, who make this revival a treasured experience...Under Kinney’s measured direction, the recriminations really heat up in the galvanic second act, when kind Esther and adorable Solomon fade into the shadows and let the brothers fight their old quarrels until one or both of them falls over." Full Review

"It requires a level of focus that Roundabout Theatre Company’s production, directed by Terry Kinney, only sometimes delivers...The play winds up in the pocket of Danny DeVito, making his Broadway debut as a charming old ganef of a furniture dealer...After dominating the first act, DeVito mostly disappears for the second, and the revival’s energy flags without him. Only when he’s onstage does 'The Price' seem right." Full Review

"Kinney doesn’t so much direct here as organize traffic, and most of the show takes place in a bottleneck: one watches listlessly because the script doesn’t seem to matter much to the actors, or, when it does, they’re using it to their own aims, as in the case of DeVito. Ruffalo is dead on his feet, and Hecht, ever needy, feels entirely lost. It’s as if she and Shalhoub, whose insinuating sexiness fails him in this role, are waiting for the show to be over." Full Review

"Scintillatingly bristling revival...It reinforces how incisive Kinney is as a director...DeVito is a marvel; if the evening weren’t as good as it is, we might recommend it simply so you can see what Danny can do with a boiled egg...I’ve never seen the play with four equal performances. Mr. Kinney has taken his actors—all of whom are accomplished—and mixed them together in such a manner that the play always comes through." Full Review

"Sympathetically directed and ardently acted, there’s much to enjoy in this Roundabout Theater Company revival...Yet it shows 'The Price' as a smaller, more stolid work than it wants to be — still just a little out of style...Mr. Kinney’s quieter, more faithful style emphasizes the fine roles for actors but doesn’t make a strong case for the play itself...If the debate is involving, it’s not especially consequential." Full Review

"Gripping if slightly muddy revival...'The Price' doesn’t so much advance as turn like a screw, deeper and deeper into the soft wood of memory...The actors, though already powerful and moving, sometimes look as if they need more time to figure out where they are...You’d think that a play so wordy and rangy would be unwelcome in today’s theatrical environment, which favors large, uncomplicated, single-minded action. But that’s why it’s so much needed." Full Review

"DeVito’s character is the most enjoyable but not a central one in Miller’s sober family drama in a cast that also includes Ruffalo, Hecht and Shalhoub. If none are at their absolute best here, that only means that all of them at one time or another have given performances that have left me in awe...The play also feels dated...People of any era should be able to respond to the themes, but the particulars, at least in this production, make it feel too distant to strike home with full force." Full Review

"The power of 'The Price' lies in how a psychologically cogent conflict about love, family, and duty is folded into a larger debate about how to live one's life...Kinney has welded his four fine talents into an impressive quartet...It's long past time that 'The Price' be recognized as one of Miller's finest plays, one that stands next to his acknowledged masterpieces. In no other work of his are the battle lines so fairly drawn, the conflict so well-armed on both sides." Full Review

"DeVito is determined and brilliant. This is a performance that crackles. In comparison to him, all the other actors seem like they are once removed, as if they were under water. It is a startling contrast...Hard to say if it is the writing or the performances, but everyone felt out of sorts...For this writer it was uneventful bordering on confusing–this is the part where the actors felt out of sync and the blocking was awkward." Full Review

“It’s a stilted work that spells out what should be implied and then does it again and again…I imagine it wasn’t their best night, making this post-opening performance feel more like an early preview. It didn’t help that the direction of Terry Kinney felt particularly flat and random…I truly had trouble understanding each of the characters…None of the actors made much sense of their parts but I have to think the blame lies equally on the play and this staging.” Full Review

"Miller’s best play—the only one, in my opinion, that is totally successful as a work of theatrical art...The highly charged naturalism of Ruffalo’s acting is terrifically impressive...Shalhoub leaves nothing to be desired...On the debit side, DeVito is effective enough in an obvious way, but he’s using Solomon as a star turn...This revival isn’t perfect, but it works—the play comes through clearly and strongly—and Ruffalo and Shalhoub are more than good enough to offset its forgivable flaws." Full Review

"Bolstered by a first-rate cast, director Terry Kinney's carefully considered production shapes all sides of the arguments into compelling drama...The writing is far from black and white on either side...However, in the fractious second act, Miller's play shows its dramaturgical weaknesses, becoming circuitous and repetitive...Still, the strong cast ensures that the drama remains riveting...A very solid, sensitively directed production of a flawed but rewarding play." Full Review

“A solid, unexpectedly compelling production…‘The Price’ can easily come off as slow and hokey today, but director Terry Kinney achieves a fine balance between Ruffalo, Shalhoub and Hecht’s raw, accusatory battling and DeVito’s spirited, minutely detailed character acting.” Full Review

"Subtlety is no great hallmark of Arthur Miller's plays...This affliction is seldom more pronounced in his oeuvre than it is in his 1968 effort 'The Price,' something you're keenly aware of throughout Terry Kinney's otherwise fine revival...'The Price' feels less like a finished drama than a staged reading of a sketchbook...Good though the members of this cast might be, they fall short of that ideal and don't register as either an integrated family or an integrated ensemble." Full Review

“Ruffalo does his best Brando imitation. DeVito breaks the tension with his savagely hilarious portrayal. Hecht is perfectly needy...It is Shalhoub who you cannot take your eyes off of. His vulnerability in admitting his failure and wanting to make this relationship right are at the heart and soul of this play. Director Kinney’s doesn’t manage to bring this play forward. There are moments that the show seems overly long, and he doesn’t manage to bring the actors all into the same play.” Full Review

"A new Roundabout production at the American Airlines Theatre that can’t mask the play’s weaknesses but compensates a bit with some strong acting....The first act is a slow-mo slog...Terry Kinney guides an atmospheric, period-rich production. Acting is uneven. Ruffalo gives a lived-in, believable performance...But Shalhoub’s mannered performance jars and gums up the works...DeVito emerges as the show’s MVP." Full Review

"'The Price' is, at best, a master’s second-tier work – Miller lite. Many of its qualities and all its flaws are thrown into relief in Terry Kinney’s damask-heavy revival...Kinney is unable to establish a coherent ensemble out of these four spectacular actors, each of whom seems to be performing in a different production...They are all entertaining in their own worlds, but only Hecht brings the touch of believability." Full Review

"DeVito is offering a spectacularly funny performance in director Terry Kinney's resonant if not wholly satisfying Broadway revival of, to my mind, one of Miller's bleakest and most personal plays...I think Kinney's direction fundamentally understands the currency of this play. Hecht clearly gets the quiet trauma of what is being bought and sold, and both Ruffalo and Shalhoub have individual vulnerability, even if you don't always believe they are in this, for better or worse, as brothers." Full Review

"While lacking the poetry of Miller's masterwork, 'Death of a Salesman,' Terry Kinney does bring it off as a fine theatrical string quartet. His players hit the right keys to reach the big climax this sort of well-made play calls for...Terry Kinney has given 'The Price' a solid production without any attempts to intersperse trendy 'now' touches. While Mark Ruffalo's Victor is a bit too stiff as the play's most conflicted character, he does well with the wordless moments." Full Review

"This production honors Miller's text readily, proving this antique will never go out of fashion...'The Price' is a play that talks in circles with purpose. It's a captivating character study...'The Price' has a resounding relevance. Kinney keeps the play in period, yet sprinkles hints of a modern sensibility. 'The Price' is an emotionally gripping play...No doubt about it, this was an immensely talented company...It may not have been the most remarkable piece of theater, but it was riveting." Full Review

"Mark Ruffalo returns to the Broadway stage in a part that seems tailor made to his physicality, his vocals, and his persona...Danny DeVito, coughing and hacking his way up and onto the stage, almost steals the show away from Ruffalo and Shalhoub...Hecht somehow manages to hold her own when paired with him...Roundabout has pulled out all the stops creating an atmospheric story with history, literally, hanging over their heads. It’s a solid revival of a less than solid play." Full Review

"The Roundabout Theatre has put together a splendid cast for director Terry Kinney’s straightforward and loving revival...After radical, dazzling director-driven revivals...it feels almost novel — at least, quietly reassuring — to have a lesser-known Miller work presented with down-the-middle sensibilities and expert care...Miller, whose parents lost everything in the crash, knew these lives’ sore spots. And this production knows how to make them still hurt." Full Review

"'The Price' may mark DeVito’s Broadway debut, at age 73, but there’s no doubt about it: He’s a real stage animal. He even takes focus before he appears on stage...As for 'The Price,' it’s difficult to say what director Kinney means to tell us about the play with this production’s four diverging performances...DeVito’s sheer presence quickly fills the void that has been Ruffalo’s performance in the play’s opening moments. It also throws 'The Price' off-kilter, but who’s to complain." Full Review

“Shalhoub is superb as the smooth-talking Walter...The role of Esther fits Hecht like a glove and she gives one of her best performances in years. Casting DeVito as Solomon was a stroke of genius…Ruffalo does not seem entirely comfortable in the role of Victor, although his performance improves as the play progresses…Kinney has taken the play at face value, rather than attempting to force his stamp upon it. Miller doesn’t need gimmicks.” Full Review