Four characters, a small attic and the strings of life drove the story of Arthur Miller’s “The Price,” presented by the Jewish Theatre of Bloomington from Nov. 6 to 16. The production, introduced by JTB Producing Artistic Director Darrel Ann Stone, was the conclusion of the theater’s 20th season.
“The Price” centers around brothers Victor (Jonathan Golembiecki) and Walter (Stephen Hunt) who meet to sell their late parents’ belongings. Victor’s wife, Esther (Abby Lee), finds herself morally in the middle of Victor’s attempts to make a fair deal and finally confront Walter about his betrayals. Meanwhile, appraiser Gregory Solomon (Ken Farrell) delivers a painfully honest account of life’s issues while serving as the comic relief.
Hunt and Lee are both members of the Actors' Equity Association.
The show’s message, that past choices can impact future reconciliation, leaves audiences to reckon with the true costs of their life choices.
Stone, a former faculty and department director at Indiana University, has been involved with the JTB since just after it was founded in 2005. She’s worked with former artistic director and founder Audrey Heller since she joined the organization. The JTB serves a significant role in the Bloomington theater community by exploring themes related to the Jewish experience and universal human issues, offering a distinct cultural voice.
Stone said the JTB puts on a mix of different productions that bring together theater, community and Jewish identity.
“We’re theater people,” Stone said. “Many are newer and more diverse productions, while some are classic plays like ‘The Price.’”
Director Dale McFadden highlighted the challenge of presenting one of Miller’s lesser-known pieces, noting the play may not be as well-known as "Death of A Salesman” and “The Crucible.” McFadden said the play also presents a challenge in how it provides a lot of material with little room for artistic flexibility.
“The play has been accused of being too much talk, and some productions have been too much flat acting, little emotional conflict and just talk,” McFadden said in an email. “But the play does work, and I am glad that our production has detail, impact and much audience involvement.”
McFadden emphasized the critical nature of the play’s setting as well. Set in a cramped and cluttered attic, he said this provides easier allowance for the characters to step into the past.
“It’s in a haunted and cramped environment in which the characters recall memories and regrets they have been trying to avoid,” McFadden wrote. “And each possession in the attic conjures a past memory.”
Essentially, this environment forces the characters to confront their past together. The brothers refer to a harp, which carries heavy emotional significance, throughout the play. The attic setting made this prop feel like a natural entryway to a deeper story, which might not have been possible in a different environment.
The question remains, even after the play is finished, whether the two brothers can ever reconcile. McFadden said “The Price” illustrates the human desire to love close friends and family through good and bad times.
“A fine balance of sympathy should be maintained in the playing of the roles of Victor and Walter,” McFadden wrote. “The production must therefore withhold judgement in favor of presenting both men in all their humanity and from their own viewpoints.”
Lee, who played Victor’s wife, Esther, said the play’s enduring relevance lies in Miller’s critique of capitalism throughout the show.
“I find it really applies today as we look at who has accumulated power in the country, and who is rewarded in our system and who is not,” Lee said.
Ultimately, Lee said she hoped the audience left “feeling less alone with the condition of ambiguity we all carry within us.”
The JTB offered a unique and intimate experience to audiences, challenging them to consider the “price” of their own lives and the difficulty of finding acceptance and reconciliation.
JTB will soon announce its full 2026 season with shows scheduled for the spring and next fall.
UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect Stephen Hunt and Abby Lee and Actors' Equity Association members.
