THE COST OF LOOKING BACK

With a soaring first act, I’m willing to pay the
price for a second that can’t quite keep up

Arthur Miller’s The Price has always been a talky, introspective piece—more excavation than action—but when it works, it’s quietly devastating. At Pacific Resident Theatre, director Elina de Santos delivers a production that reminds you just how powerful Miller’s writing can be… at least for a while.

Set in the cluttered attic of a Manhattan brownstone slated for demolition, the play follows Victor Franz, a nearing-retirement police officer, who reunites with his estranged brother Walter to sort through their late father’s possessions. What begins as a simple appraisal—courtesy of wily antiques dealer Gregory Solomon—quickly becomes a reckoning over choices, sacrifices, and the lifelong consequences of both.

Dana Dewes, Scott G. Jackson

The first act is, quite simply, magical. Miller’s language crackles, the tension builds with surgical precision, and de Santos allows the rhythms of the play to unfold without fuss or gimmickry. The cast—Scott G. Jackson as Victor, Jason Huber as Walter, Dana Dewes as Esther, and the invaluable Richard Fancy as Solomon—could not be better assembled. Each actor fully inhabits their role, bringing nuance, humor, and emotional weight to what could easily feel like a museum piece.

Richard Fancy, Jason Huber, Dana Dewes, Scott G. Jackson

And then comes Act Two.

It’s here that Miller’s tendencies toward over-explanation begin to bog things down. Walter’s extended monologue—crucial as it is—simply doesn’t land with the same propulsion, and the play, despite the actors’ best efforts, loses steam and never quite regains it. Having now seen the play twice, one begins to wonder what any director could realistically do to tighten that section. The issue isn’t the staging; it’s on the page. Miller, for all his brilliance, over-writes the moment, diffusing the very tension he so expertly built.

Jason Huber, Dana Dewes, Scott G. Jackson

That said, the production never collapses. De Santos keeps things grounded, trusting the material and her actors, and the performances remain impeccable throughout. Dewes’s emotional Esther is particularly compelling, while Huber brings a restless urgency to Walter that underscores the brothers’ unresolved divide. And Fancy, threading humor through Solomon’s philosophizing, reminds us that Miller always knew when to let a little air into the room.

Dana Dewes

Visually, the production is a triumph. Rich Rose’s scenic design—arguably the best set in Los Angeles right now—is a marvel of detail and atmosphere, a dense accumulation of objects that feels both literal and symbolic. You could spend the entire evening just taking in the environment, which becomes a character in its own right. Costumes by Keilani Gleave, lighting by Leigh Allen, and sound by Chris Moscatiello round out a design team working at the top of their game.

Ultimately, The Price remains a fascinating, if uneven, work—one that asks big questions about responsibility, regret, and the narratives we construct to justify our lives. This production captures its strengths beautifully, even if it can’t entirely overcome its structural flaws.

Still, for all its second-act drift, Pacific Resident Theatre’s The Price is well worth seeing—and, in fact, far outshines Center Theatre Group’s production from a decade ago. When Miller is firing on all cylinders, few playwrights can match him. Here, for one glorious act, he absolutely does.

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photos by Ian Cardamone

The Price
Pacific Resident Theatre, 703 Venice Blvd, Venice
Thur & Sat at 8; Sun at 3 (check website for exceptions)
ends on May 31, 2026
for tickets ($25–$45), call 855.585.5185 or visit PRT

for more shows, visit Theatre in Los Angeles

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