A pithy, poignant family drama about delusion and self-destruction

Everything comes at a price, and few plays in the American theatrical canon demonstrate this truism more eloquently than Arthur Miller's The Price. Set in 1968 in the midst of the Vietnam War, the pithy-poignant family drama examines the ways in which human beings justify their (self-)destructive actions through a slow process of self-delusion. The events depicted in the play, which unfold over one intense, long scene, center on Victor, a middle-aged police officer who returns to the apartment in which he lived for years with his once-wealthy father following the stock market crash of 1929. Victor plans to meet with an appraiser to sell off the remainder of his father's furniture and then go to a movie with his wife. But when Walter, Victor's successful surgeon brother, turns up, having been out of touch with Victor for well over a decade, the siblings are forced to come to terms with more than the price of a few antiques. Aurora Theatre's poised production penetrates the many layers of Miller's text. Aurora has assembled a priceless team for this production, featuring rhythmic direction by Joy Carlin and clean performances from all four cast members -- Ray Reinhardt is especially compelling as the 89-year-old appraiser Gregory Solomon.