Does Hertz get cozy with Avis? Or UPMC with West Penn?

No. So it's notable that Arthur Miller's "The Price," starting previews tonight at the Pittsburgh Public Theater in the Cultural District, is being directed by Tracy Brigden, artistic director of City Theatre on the South Side.

In her ninth year running City and Ted Pappas' 10th year running the Public, he reached across the competitive divide. "Ted just called me and asked if I'd direct it," said Ms. Brigden during a supper break between rehearsals.

"She's the first and only person I asked," said Mr. Pappas in a separate interview. He grinned: "She was surprised."

No doubt. Even more surprising is that the schedules meshed. Along with running their theaters, both artistic directors also direct about three shows each year, and Ms. Brigden has been directing summers elsewhere. It just happened that "The Price" came right between two of her directing jobs at City, "The Clockmaker" and "Shooting Star."

But this unusual collaboration didn't come out of nowhere. In their previous New York careers, their paths occasionally crossed. They came to Pittsburgh about the same time -- this is her ninth year at City and his 10th at the Public. And they share their undergraduate college, Northwestern University. He's about 10 years her senior, but they studied with many of the same professors.

As a result, they fell into the habit of occasional lunches together, bridging the gap between the Cultural District and the South Side. "Being New Yorkers in Pittsburgh is a kind of bond," she said. "There's a certain style we appreciate." She's been to most of the openings at the Public and he's been to some at City. More important, she said, "he's gone out of his way to publicly praise my work and City Theatre."

There could be ulterior motives on both sides. The overlap between the two subscriber bases isn't great, maybe between 15 and 20 percent of City's (smaller) list. Presumably some City Theatre patrons will be curious to follow Ms. Brigden to the Public, and some Public patrons will discover there's professional theater outside the Cultural District.

"What kind of theater is not the hurdle," Ms. Brigden says. "It's getting people to the theater at all. Of course we're all scraping for every dime, but we do think that good theater begets more theater."

Meanwhile, she loves the experience. "The Public's staff has been exceptional, they've hopped to every request or idea. Not to disparage my own people, but I have felt absolutely supported."

The differences are extensive. "You always learn -- that's one reason you go direct elsewhere," she said. "And I often come home thinking, 'We do it better.' But there's nothing I can point to at the Public."

The Public has many more resources. "There's more space -- they build the set right there, open the doors and move it in. There's a billion people putting it up," so the actors get on the real set quicker. Of course, there's an adjustment in dealing with the Public's unionized crew -- she had to learn not to go on stage and move a stool herself, "but once you get used to it, it's a luxury."

Ms. Brigden is also enjoying Arthur Miller. City specializes in new plays, so "it's good to get a dose of a major dramatist." It doesn't hurt that he's dead, as opposed to the live playwrights she normally deals with. "It's good to live in a play I've loved." And unlike most of the new plays at City, which might have many locations and fly through time, "The Price" is an old-fashioned realist play with four characters talking in real time on one set.

To prepare, Ms. Brigden says she "assiduously watched Ted's production of 'Little Foxes,' how the people move on a thrust stage. This is a skill Ted is very good at. It's fun to exercise that [directing] muscle." "The Price" also appeals to her because she finds echoes in it of her own family.

Independently, Ms. Brigden and Mr. Pappas noted what's more unusual than one artistic director hiring another -- choosing a woman to direct "The Price." It's about two brothers fighting over their father's legacy, and a lot of people would assume it should be a male director, said Ms. Brigden. "That's one thing I really appreciate."

According to Mr. Pappas, that did contribute to his choice. "I was looking for a director who wasn't an obvious choice, someone who hadn't made a reputation based on Miller. A big part of my job is matching directors to plays. She's a real good director, a wonderful fit with a natural affinity for American realism."

Inadvertently he had left her off his directors' list, "through the sheer coincidence of our being in the same city. She should have been on that short list." But when the idea came to him, "I thought it was a good message about the health and vitality of our theater scene. . . . It sends a message of teamwork and good will through the theater community, without being a stunt."

Then, "my decision was confirmed over and over again. She pounced on the project with strong ideas about casting and design and it's being a living play. . . Through her I met some new actors, new ideas and connections." Best of all, he trusts her, so "I don't hover in the rehearsal hall."

Finally, he asked with an impish grin, "Now, is she going to ask me to direct?"

Ms. Brigden had already said, "I have invited Ted to direct at City. We talk about it all the time."

Presumably those lunch discussions will continue.

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