Cost of Living

What is the road that brought us here? Unemployed truck driver Eddie sits at a bar alone, recalling his final moments with wife, Ani, when a car accident turned the focus of their relationship from divorcing to caregiving. Overworked, under-qualified, and nearly homeless, Jess takes on another job to make ends meet – this time, as a personal caregiver for a wealthy and beautiful graduate student named John, who...
What is the road that brought us here? Unemployed truck driver Eddie sits at a bar alone, recalling his final moments with wife, Ani, when a car accident turned the focus of their relationship from divorcing to caregiving. Overworked, under-qualified, and nearly homeless, Jess takes on another job to make ends meet – this time, as a personal caregiver for a wealthy and beautiful graduate student named John, who has cerebral palsy. The histories, influences, and challenges of four lives converge in the meeting of two strangers in a small, empty apartment in Bayonne, NJ.
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Cost of Living

Recommended by

  • Daphne Macy:
    2 May. 2023
    One of the best plays I’ve ever read. As a playwright, it transformed my thinking about storytelling and taught me so much. It is such a poignant, thought-provoking, powerful play. What a masterpiece.
  • Megan Ann Jacobs:
    19 Apr. 2022
    This piece blew my mind in all of the best ways. It was full of every ounce of heart you can muster and a story that truly felt like a window into the daily lives of everyday people. Rather than focusing on disabilities, it focused on the people, and their struggles with staying afloat in a world where anyone individual moment can hurdle you into personal and financial ruin. The story brought tears to my eye and launched so many conversations within my household. An INCREDIBLE show!
  • Jennifer O'Grady:
    26 Apr. 2021
    Words can't do justice to how much I love this play and how much I was moved and just blown away by it. Haunting and masterful. (Not downloadable because published but I'm so glad I purchased it!)

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Lark Play Development Center
    ,
    2015
  • Workshop
    ,
    Dorset Theatre Festival
    ,
    2015
  • Workshop
    ,
    LAByrinth Theater Company
    ,
    2015
  • Workshop
    ,
    Apprentice Company, Actors Theatre of Louisville
    ,
    2014

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Manhattan Theatre Club
    ,
    2017
  • Professional
    ,
    Williamstown Theatre Festival
    ,
    2016

Awards

Winner
,
Pulitzer Prize
,
2018
Winner
,
Jean Kennedy Smith Prize
,
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
,
2016
Winner
,
Women's Invitational
,
Ashland New Plays Festival
,
2016