The play ART is about more than white on white.
Next up on BSC’s Main Stage in Pittsfield is the award winning comedy ART. This smart and funny play explores the value and meaning of both friendship and art when a (nearly) all-white painting ignites an escalating argument among three men, threatening to destroy their long friendship.
Background
The play ART by Yasmina Reza is a many faceted evening of theatre. For one thing it proves that women playwrights are every bit the equal of men. This play started its life in French, but so did much of Samuel Beckett’s work. The drama is a fascinating excursion into the art world, and could just as easily take place in an old Berkshire factory loft as one in Paris.
Then there is the unexpected human connection. Who among us has not stood speechless in front of a modern work of art and wondered “what the…” for at least a few minutes. The play then, like art itself, speaks a universal language that sweeps all of us before it.
David Garrison plays Serge who seeks validation.
But more than probing serious issues about life and art, it is also an actor’s dream, a nonstop cross-fire of crackling language, “expressed in outbursts that sound like Don Rickles with a degree from the Sorbonne.” Reza’s work has been translated by Christopher Hampton. “It takes that yawny old bore, the play of ideas, and jolts it to life,” says Newsweek’s Jack Kroll.
The characters are Serge, the dilettante modernist played by David Garrison, Marc the classicist who’s a snob underneath played by Michael Countryman , and Brian Avers as Yvan, an art-naif who goes whichever way the wind blows.
The orginal French production won the Molière award for best play.
The issues
The play gets into gear with the famous question: “What is art?” In this case a white canvas that pushes at the limits of the definition in the age-old debate. There are, however, more layers to the question, and to Reza’s play. Central to the piece, for Serge (David Garrison), is the official sanction — “Huntingdon would take it off my hands for two hundred and twenty” is Serge’s first justification of the price. The artist, Antrios, is “well-known”, and it is “worth mentioning” that it is a seventies Antrios. The experts say it is significant, so Serge believes it is.
Brian Avers as Yvan is ambivalent about more than just the painting.
However, Serge also wants validation from his friends. Marc (Michael Countryman) questions his judgment. Both in turn question their relationship with a man willing to spend such a large amount of money on something that they find hard pressed to consider ‘art.’
Yvan (Brian Avers), teetering uncommitedly between the two extreme positions, is also trying to prepare for his wedding. The joyous event gets dragged into the fight as well as the conflict becomes much more personal. In the end the play is, in fact, not about art at all. But there will be no spoilers here.
The Production
The second mainstage presentation of 2010 (following the current Sweeney Todd) will be presented by Barrington Stage Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Julianne Boyd and Producing Director Richard M. Parison, Jr.
Directed by Henry Wishcamper (LCT 3’s Graceland, Keen Company’s Pullman Car Hiawatha), ART will run from July 22 through August 8, with an Opening Night scheduled for Sunday, July 25 at 5:00pm.
Michael Countryman plays Marc who questions his friend's judgement.
The cast features Brian Avers (BSC’s The Violet Hour, Black Comedy; Broadway: Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘n Roll) portrays Yvan, Michael Countryman (BSC’s Ciao!; Off-Broadway Equivocation; Broadway: Mary Stuart) plays Marc, and making his BSC debut is David Garrison (Television: Married… with Children; Broadway: Wicked, Titanic) who plays Serge.
“’Art’ is,” says Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, “the kind of play I love – funny, smart, and wonderfully human. And about something all of us can relate to: friendship.”
The creative team includes scenic designer Robin Vest, costume designer Jenny Mannis, lighting designer Matt Richards, and sound designer Bart Fasbender. Wesley Apfel is the production stage manager.
Since its premiere in 1995 in Paris, ART has been performed worldwide and translated in over 30 languages. Reza holds the record for the first woman to win the Tony Award for Best Play twice – ART in 1998 and God of Carnage in 2009. Her other works include The Unexpected Man and Life (x) 3.
White on White Art Exhibition with Storefront Artist Project
Adding to the discussion of ART, Barrington Stage joins with the Storefront Artist Project (SAP), under the leadership of Julia Dixon, Acting Director, to present an exhibition of white artworks, to celebrate art in the City of Pittsfield during the month of July. Works will be on view at the Storefront Artist Project, 124 Fenn Street , the lobby at Barrington Stage, 30 Union Street, and various storefronts and businesses throughout downtown Pittsfield from July 13-27.
A public opening reception will be held at the Storefront Artist Project on Tuesday, July 13 from 6-8 pm. For more information on White on White, please contact Julia Dixon at the Storefront Artist Project 413-442-7201 or mail@storefrontartist.org.
Artists from Berkshire County and the region will be participating in this city-wide exhibition. Works of all media will be on view, from paintings and drawings to sculpture and photography. Some artists interpreted “white on white” as an aesthetic idea, while others chose to submit works that speak to the themes present in Yasmina Reza’s play, Art: beauty, value, investment, culture, passion and creativity.
White on White will be juried by Storefront Artist Project Acting Director Julia Dixon; Ferrin Gallery Owner Leslie Ferrin; and the three stars of the Barrington Stage production of Art, Brian Avers, Michael Countryman and David Garrison.
The Dates and Ticket Details
Performances of Yasmina Reza’s ART are from July 22 through August 7 are Tuesday and Wednesday at 7pm, Thursday through Saturday at 8pm, Friday matinees at 2pm, and Sunday at 5pm at BSC Mainstage, 30 Union St., Pittsfield. Additional matinee performance on Wed., July 28 at 2pm. Opening Night: Sun., July 25 at 5:00pm. Tickets: $15-$56. Seniors: $35 all matinees. Pay What You Can Night for 35 year olds and younger: Fri., July 30 at 8:00pm. Barrington Stage is fully-accessible, including wheelchair accessibility and assisted listening devices at every performance. Accessible seating is available by reservation. For ticket information, call 413-236-8888, stop by the BSC Box Office at 30 Union Street, or visit www.barringtonstageco.org.
Posted on July 7, 2010 by Larry Murray
0