Today on the podcast: Guest Artist, Jeffrey L. Page continues artistic relationships with Philadelphia Theatre Company’s production of “Cost Of Living” by Martyna Majok. Here is my interview with Jeffrey L. Page for PTC’s Cost Of Living.

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.

Ross Beschler - Eddie

Gianna Castro - Jess

Rachel Handler - Ani

Christian Prentice - John

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

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.