Hal Linden-Led THE PRICE Opens Tonight at Arena Stage

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater presents Arthur Miller's The Price, which has been extended to receive an additional week of performances due to popular demand.

Three-time Emmy Award winner Hal Linden, known for his portrayal of the title character in the hit television series Barney Miller and his Tony Award-winning performance in Broadway's The Rothschilds, stars as Gregory Solomon under the direction of Deputy Artistic Director Seema Sueko.

A high-stakes drama about the struggle to make peace with the past and create hope for the future, The Price is considered one of Miller's most personal plays. The Price runs tonight, October 6, through November 12, 2017 in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle.

Joining Hal Linden in the four-person cast are D.C.-area actors Maboud Ebrahimzadeh (Folger Theatre's Timon of Athens) and Rafael Untalan (Theater J's Yellow Face) as brothers Victor Franz and Walter Franz, respectively, with Pearl Sun (Broadway's If/Then, Next to Normal national tour) as Victor's wife, Esther Franz. Ricardo Frederick Evans (Round House's Two Trains Running) will assume the role of Victor Franz beginning November 7.

"I look forward to experiencing Seema Sueko's interpretation of this great play by Arthur Miller," says Molly Smith. "Miller wrote superb plays about American family life. Even though this play was written decades ago, it continues to snap with contemporary relevance. It's a pleasure to welcome Hal Linden to Arena, and I know this production will light up the Kogod."

"Arthur Miller set this play 'today.' It's clearly 1968, but the fact that he wrote 'today' in the front pages of his script tells me he was writing a play that would endure and transcend time, and in fact it does," says Sueko. "Today, we are all so wounded, both personally and nationally. We are carrying wounds from our families, wounds from our pasts. In The Price, Solomon and the family excavate the past, wade through the muck and, in the last few pages, an amazing act of healing occurs. We need to heal, and this play shows us how. To deliver this, I needed actors who could live fully in the moment, who possess a depth to feel the extremes of the play and a sense of humor to embrace the comedy of the tragedies of their lives. Hal, Maboud, Rafael, Pearl and Ricardo have it. I cannot wait to plunge into rehearsals with them."

Miller's work has been featured prominently over the years at Arena Stage-the theater has produced seven of his plays, resulting in 14 productions. In 2008, Arena Stage hosted an Arthur Miller Festival to celebrate the American Giant, anchored by repertory productions of Death of a Salesman and View from the Bridge and featuring readings, film screenings and lectures. Arena Stage previously produced The Price in 1994 in the Fichandler Stage.

The creative team for The Price includes Set Designer Wilson Chin, Costume Designer Ivania Stack, Lighting Designer Allen Lee Hughes, Sound Designer Roc Lee, Dialect Coach Zach Campion, Stage Manager Trevor A. Riley and Assistant Stage Manager Jen Grunfeld.

Post-Show Conversations: Connect with our shows beyond the performance at a post-show conversation with artists and staff-October 25, October 31, November 1 and November 7 following the noon performance; October 24 following the 7:30 p.m. performance; and November 2 following the 8:00 p.m. performance.

Tickets for The Price are $40-90, subject to change and based on availability, plus applicable fees. For information on savings programs such as pay-your-age tickets, student discounts, Southwest Nights and hero's discounts, visit arenastage.org/shows-tickets/single-tickets/savings-programs.

Tickets may be purchased online at arenastage.org by phone at 202-488-3300 or at the Sales Office at 1101 Sixth St., SW, D.C. Sales Office/Subscriptions: 202-488-3300. Group Sales Hotline for 10+ Tickets: 202-488-4380. TTY for deaf patrons: 202-484-0247. Info for patrons with disabilities: 202-488-3300.

For more about the production, go to arenastage.org/about/press-room/press-kits-photos/productions/the-price.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Arthur Miller (Playwright)'s plays include All My Sons (New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winner, two-time Tony Award winner), Death of a Salesman (Pulitzer Prize winner, New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winner), The Crucible (Tony Award winner), A View from the Bridge, A Memory of Two Mondays, After the Fall, Incident at Vichy, The Price, The Creation of the World and Other Business, The American Clock, The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, The Last Yankee, Broken Glass, Mr. Peter's Connections and Finishing the Picture. His novels include Focus and The Misfits, he has written the text for In Russia, In the Country and Chinese Encounters. Published books include Echoes Down the Corridor: Collected Essays, 1994-2000; On Politics and the Art of Acting; and Timebends. He received the 2001 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters.

Seema Sueko (Director) joined the Arena Stage staff in July 2016 as deputy artistic director and made her Arena Stage directorial debut with Smart People. She previously served as associate artistic director at The Pasadena Playhouse and executive artistic director of Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company. Her directing and acting credits include The Pasadena Playhouse, People's Light, The Old Globe, San Diego Repertory, Yale Repertory, 5th Avenue Theatre and Native Voices, among others. As a playwright, she received commissions from Mixed Blood Theatre and Center Stage. Her work has been recognized by the California State Assembly, NAACP San Diego, Chicago Jeff Awards, American Theatre Wing and American Theatre magazine. Seema developed the Consensus Organizing for Theater methodology, has done research on the neuroscience of acting and serves on the Diversity Committee of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Maboud Ebrahimzadeh (Victor Franz, October 6-November 5) is thrilled to make his Arena Stage debut. He recently won the Barrymore Award for Outstanding Leading Actor for The Invisible Hand (Theatre Exile). D.C. credits include Timon of Athens and Julius Caesar (Folger Theatre); The Pillowman, The Last Days of Judas Iscariot, Bobrauschenbergamerica and Scorched (Forum Theatre); Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo (Round House); Water by the Spoonful and Edgar and Annabel (Studio Theatre); The Tale of the Allergist's Wife and Boged (Theater J); A Few Good Men (Keegan Theatre); A Man, His Wife, and His Hat (Hub Theatre); and Side Man (1st Stage). Regional credits include Murder on the Orient Express and Disgraced (McCarter); Disgraced (Milwaukee Repertory); The Liar (Gulfshore Playhouse); The Container (Center Stage); and Mockingbird (Kennedy Center). Film credits include Imperium and Sally Pacholok. www.maboudebrahimzadeh.com

Ricardo Frederick Evans (Victor Franz, November 7-November 12) returns to Arena Stage after appearing in Our War. Other D.C.-area credits include Sterling in Two Trains Running (Round House); the Egungun in In the Red and Brown Water (Studio Theatre); Orsino in Twelfth Night (Taffety Punk); the titular character in Hercules in Russia (Doorway Arts Ensemble); and The Jungle Book, Disney's Mulan, Ferdinand the Bull, Rumpelstiltskin and Helen Hayes nomination for Doctor Dolittle (Imagination Stage). Ricardo can be seen in the independent film Of Dice and Men directed by Kelley Slagle and Route 30,Three! and The Father and the Bear, both directed by John Putch. TV credits include House of Cards.

Hal Linden (Gregory Solomon) makes his Arena Stage debut. He is an actor, singer and musician whose career has spanned over 65 years on stage, TV, film and a cabaret-style variety show which tours nationally, Hal Linden in Concert. Hal is perhaps best known for his portrayal of police precinct captain Barney Miller in the hit TV series Barney Miller, which earned him seven Emmy Award nominations and three Golden Globe nominations. Film credits include Bells Are Ringing, When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?, Starflight One, Out To Sea, A New Life and Time Changer. Hal has performed in over 20 Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, including the revival of Cole Porter's Anything Goes and The Rothschilds, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He currently serves as spokesman for the Jewish National Fund.

Pearl Sun (Esther Franz) is honored to make her Arena Stage debut. Select Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include If/Then, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Assassins (City Center Off-Center), Merrily We Roll Along (City Center Encores!), The Seven (New York Theatre Workshop) and Happiness (Lincoln Center Theatre). She played Diana for over 50 performances in the first national tour of Next to Normal, Bernstein's Mass (Philadelphia Orchestra), Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and The Seven (La Jolla Playhouse) and tick, tick... Boom! (Westport Country Playhouse). TV credits include Orange is the New Black (Netflix), Gotham (FOX) and The Good Wife (CBS). Special thanks to Ashley at KMR. For Johannes & Max. Instagram: @pearlraysun.

Rafael Untalan (Walter Franz) is delighted to make his Arena Stage debut. D.C.-area credits include Yellow Face and Falling Out of Time (Theater J), Anime Momotaro and Sinbad (Imagination Stage) and The Duchess of Malfi (We Happy Few). Regional credits include Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Homes Mystery (Cleveland Play House and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), The Ramayana (A Contemporary Theatre), Equivocation (Virginia Repertory), Twelfth Night (TheatreWorks), A Tale of Two Cities (Seattle Children's Theatre) and The Winter's Tale (Marin Shakespeare). Rafael spent three years at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where he appeared in numerous productions including Cyrano de Bergerac and Romeo and Juliet. Film and TV credits include Earth and Eden (Invisible Pictures) and Leverage (TNT). Rafael received his M.F.A. from The Academy for Classical Acting at George Washington University.

Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Molly Smith and Executive Director Edgar Dobie, is a national center dedicated to American voices and artists. Arena Stage produces plays of all that is passionate, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit, and presents diverse and ground-breaking work from some of the best artists around the country. Arena Stage is committed to commissioning and developing new plays and impacts the lives of over 10,000 students annually through its work in community engagement. Now in its seventh decade, Arena Stage serves a diverse annual audience of more than 300,000. Visit arenastage.org for more.