My husband and I have also been attending performances of contemporary drama. Last weekend we saw Red at Arena Stage, another impressive venue. This venue, however, is quite 21st century.
Red's subject matter is also quite modern and fits into our course nicely. The play is about modern artist Mark Rothko.
You may prefer to see his distinctive paintings in color.
The play is set in the late 1950s when Rothko was completing a commission to paint murals for The Four Seasons, a very expensive restaurant in NYC. Rothko's style of painting was also being challenged by the work of artists such as Andy Warhol. In the play itself, Rothko and his assistant, Ken, a young artist, battle over art and its meaning. I wonder how this play would work as drama read in a class like EN 230. However, visual and aural elements that may be difficult to convey on the page are so important to this play in particular. (It is set in Rothko's studio, a capacious loft with much equipment and many paintings in progress.) Also, as my brother-in-law pointed out to me, this play would be difficult to stage in many settings and requires a venue and company like Arena Stage or its equivalent. For more information, see this article from The NY Times:The scene below is from Arena Stage.
Even the paint that Rothko and Ken throw around the stage requires technical know-how. After all, oil paint is very permanent. Yet, in one scene, Ken cleans it up very quickly.
For reviews of Red at Arena Stage, see the following links:
Links to reviews of other productions are below:
For information about Rothko, see the links below:
And what did happen to the murals that Rothko was supposed to paint for the Four Seasons:
To finish, here are links to videos and articles about what it is like to perform in Red.
The scene below is from Boston's Speakeasy Theater:
2 comments:
I'm glad I found this post...I've been meaning to ask you what you thought of the play. I remember you mentioned that you were going to see it on the first night of class. My husband and I have been thinking about getting tickets to see it...Rothko is one of his favorite artists. What kind of a review would you give it?
The Arena Theater production is outstanding. I hope that you and your husband are able to see it!
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