Produced by: Arena StageWhen: Currently sold out through 1/26...but lucky for you: extended through March 11
Last year I visited the show of Mark Rothko's Black paintings in the "Tower" of the East Building (National Gallery of Art here in Washington DC). Previous to that visit, I had often overlooked many of Rothko's pieces... but that particular exhibit drew me in. So much so, that I took the color theory college class I was teaching there for a visit and Sergio and I took a group of our younger students there as well.
We were amazed at how receptive everyone was once we read the captions that explained the emotion inherent in Rothko's work. "Red" is about that. Emotion. It is intense and visceral!
Sergio and I were both excited when we were invited to review this new production at Arena Stage. Red, a Tony Award winning play from 2010 is centered on the angst and joys and madness and egotism of Rothko, it is set in his Manhattan studio in 1958. The two-character drama follows Rothko and his young assistant as they work on a series of paintings commissioned to decorate the high-profile Four Seasons restaurant inside Mies van de Rohe's recently completed glass-and-steel Seagram Building on Park Avenue.
Throughout the play, the dialogue centers around Rothko's anger against critics, art collectors and his contemporary artistic rivals.
Rothko and his assistant engage in topics that are still significant in today's art world- topics abound about the meaning of art... what qualifies as "real art" and what is 'decorative art' and what I found to be one of the most interesting conversations in the play: 'should art be relevant in our culture/time ? as Rothko voices his concerned with his legacy in the art world as a new generation of artists such as Roy Liechtenstein and Andy Warhol are basking in popularity and he is feeling left behind. His assistant says: "You want to do your best work, not think that it's behind you. ... It does matter what other people think."
A most poignant part in the play occurs at the end, when Rothko decides do keep his paintings to save them from being overlooked at the restaurant.... if you follow my blog... you know that this very thing has happened to me. His sentiments about this are spot on, and I am left to wonder and thus learn more about him .... a sure mark of good writing!
The acting was superb! It is not easy to carry a two character play all within one room...but the set and the acting were just fantastic.Bravo John Logan! Bravo Arena Stage.... if you are in the Washington DC area.... it is a must see!
We were amazed at how receptive everyone was once we read the captions that explained the emotion inherent in Rothko's work. "Red" is about that. Emotion. It is intense and visceral!
Sergio and I were both excited when we were invited to review this new production at Arena Stage. Red, a Tony Award winning play from 2010 is centered on the angst and joys and madness and egotism of Rothko, it is set in his Manhattan studio in 1958. The two-character drama follows Rothko and his young assistant as they work on a series of paintings commissioned to decorate the high-profile Four Seasons restaurant inside Mies van de Rohe's recently completed glass-and-steel Seagram Building on Park Avenue.
Throughout the play, the dialogue centers around Rothko's anger against critics, art collectors and his contemporary artistic rivals.
Rothko and his assistant engage in topics that are still significant in today's art world- topics abound about the meaning of art... what qualifies as "real art" and what is 'decorative art' and what I found to be one of the most interesting conversations in the play: 'should art be relevant in our culture/time ? as Rothko voices his concerned with his legacy in the art world as a new generation of artists such as Roy Liechtenstein and Andy Warhol are basking in popularity and he is feeling left behind. His assistant says: "You want to do your best work, not think that it's behind you. ... It does matter what other people think."
I concur.
The set of "Red" looks very much like the inside of a studio... Sergio and I found it to be brilliantly put together, the lighting design is superb as the paintings truly "shimmer" as Rothko appears to see them. During the play Rothko and his assistant apply paint to canvasses with passion and deliberation much like my favorite 'artist' scene in the movie New York stories with Nick Nolte playing the part of a painter. The smell of cigarettes wafts through the air... they not only stretch canvases, but mix the paint in large metal containers whilst having take out from the local Chinese place. Ah..yes...we can relate!
A most poignant part in the play occurs at the end, when Rothko decides do keep his paintings to save them from being overlooked at the restaurant.... if you follow my blog... you know that this very thing has happened to me. His sentiments about this are spot on, and I am left to wonder and thus learn more about him .... a sure mark of good writing! The acting was superb! It is not easy to carry a two character play all within one room...but the set and the acting were just fantastic.Bravo John Logan! Bravo Arena Stage.... if you are in the Washington DC area.... it is a must see!
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