# Cost of Living (play)

Cost of Living is a dramatic stage play written by Polish-born American playwright Martyna Majok. It premiered in Williamstown, Massachusetts, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival on June 29, 2016, and had an Off-Broadway engagement in 2017. The play won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as two Lucille Lortel Awards, including Outstanding Play.

## Synopsis

The play examines two pairs of relationships between disabled and able persons: one between John, a graduate student with cerebral palsy and his female caregiver, Jess, and the other between Ani, who became a quadriplegic following a tragic accident and her ex-husband, Eddie, an unemployed truck driver.

## Notable casts

Gregg Mozgala and Katy Sullivan, the actors who originated the disabled characters, have those disabilities in real life.
| Role | Williamstown Theatre Festival 2016 | New York City Center 2017 | Broadway 2022 |
| Jess | Rebecca Naomi Jones | Jolly Abraham | Kara Young |
| John | Gregg Mozgala | Gregg Mozgala | Gregg Mozgala |
| Eddie | Wendell Pierce | Victor Williams | David Zayas |
| Ani | Katy Sullivan | Katy Sullivan | Katy Sullivan |

## Production history

Cost of Living was expanded from the 2015 two-character one-act Majok play John, Who's Here From Cambridge by adding a second couple. John, Who's Here From Cambridge ran Off-Broadway from May 28 – June 20, 2015. Cost of Living made its world premiere during a June 29 – July 10, 2016, run at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. It then moved to New York City Center for a production by Manhattan Theatre Club that had previews beginning on May 16, 2017, and officially opened on June 7, 2017. Williamstown Theatre Festival co-produced the Off-Broadway debut with the Manhattan Theatre Club. In 2018, Williamstown Theatre Festival announced that they had commissioned a musical adaptation from Michael John LaChiusa. The play made its Broadway debut in the fall of 2022 at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
| Theatre | Opening Date | Closing Date | Details |
| Williamstown Theatre Festival, Williamstown | June 29, 2016 | July 10, 2016 | Premiere production |
| New York City Center, Off-Broadway | June 7, 2017 | July 16, 2017 | Off-Broadway debut |
| Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway | October 3, 2022 | November 6, 2022 | Broadway debut |

## Awards and nominations

Cost of Living earned three Lucille Lortel Awards nominations on April 4, 2018. It eventually won in two of the three categories, tying with School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play for Outstanding Play and earning Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play for Gregg Mozgala. On April 16, the play earned Majok, a University of Chicago and Yale School of Drama graduate, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her work that explores "diverse perceptions of privilege and human connection through two pairs of mismatched individuals". The play received 4 Outer Critics Circle Awards nominations. It also received both a Drama Desk Award and a Drama League Award nomination. Although, Cost of Living received no Off Broadway Alliance Awards in 2018, Director Jo Bonney earned one of the Legend of Off Broadway Awards from the organization in 2018.
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| 2018 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Play | Martyna Majok, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club | Won (tied with School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play) |
| 2018 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Gregg Mozgala | Won |
| 2018 | Lucille Lortel Awards | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | Katy Sullivan | Nominated |
| 2018 | Pulitzer Prize | Drama | Martyna Majok | Won |
| 2018 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Katy Sullivan | Nominated |
| 2018 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play | Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play | Nominated |
| 2018 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Gregg Mozgala | Nominated |
| 2018 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Play | Katy Sullivan | Nominated |
| 2018 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Jo Bonney | Nominated |
| 2018 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Gregg Mozgala | Nominated |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Best Play | Nominated |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Jo Bonney | Nominated |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actor in a Play | David Zayas | Nominated |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Katy Sullivan | Nominated |
| 2023 | Tony Awards | Best Featured Actress in a Play | Kara Young | Nominated |