Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
THE STORY: Eddie, an unemployed truck driver, reunites with his ex-wife Ani after she suffers a devastating accident. John, a brilliant and witty doctoral student, hires overworked Jess as a caregiver. As their lives intersect, Majok’s play delves into the chasm between abundance and need and explores the space where bodies—abled and disabled—meet each other.
Also co-winner of the 2018 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play.
“[COST OF LIVING] slams the door on uplifting stereotypes…Tremendous emotion flows around the impediments Majok has placed in the characters’ paths…In both of [the play’s] stories…the biggest handicaps are the universal ones: fear and disconnection…immensely haunting…[Majok] is exquisitely attuned to the many varieties of alienation hiding in plain sight in America.” —The New York Times.
“…[COST OF LIVING] provides a piercing look at the obstacles faced by disabled people and, more importantly, the human condition in general…the characters, dialogue and situations resonate with emotional truth about loneliness, financial desperation and the vulnerability of disabled people forced to rely on others to assist them with basic human needs.” —The Hollywood Reporter.
“…a deeply human depiction of life with disability…[The play] doesn’t condescend to any of the characters. Ani and John may be in wheelchairs, but that’s the least interesting thing about them in Majok’s script…Majok mines their senses of humor, diverse personality traits, and opportunities to be both likable and hateful…As much as COST OF LIVING is a play about disability, it also very much focuses on what it takes to survive in a world where you are the forgotten…Life isn’t easy, no matter what you look like, and Majok doesn’t sugarcoat it.” —TheaterMania.
Artwork courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club.
