Signature Theatre Presents Reza's ART, 3/29-5/22

A simple white canvas. A 200,000 franc price tag. The real cost? A 15-year long friendship. Virginia's Tony Award®-winning Signature Theatre presents Yasmine Reza's (God of Carnage) scathing dark comedy Art. Translated by Christopher Hampton, Reza's play examines the pressures friends place on one another and asks the question - are you who you think you are or are you who your friends want you to be? Signature Theatre's Resident Director Matt Gardiner will direct the award-winning play. Produced worldwide and performed in over thirty languages, Art won the 1998 Tony Award® for Best Play and the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy.

Serge has bought an avant-garde painting for a huge sum of money which he absolutely loves. His close friend Marc hates it and cannot believe that a friend of his could possibly admire such a work. Mild-mannered Yvan attempts to placate both sides as best as he can. Insults and arguments slowly shift from the theoretical and artistic to the very private and personal, as their close friendship is examined and put to the ultimate test.

Matt Gardiner said, "Reza's wildly funny play already has such a history to it. I've always been attracted to her minimalist writing which miraculously says so much between the lines. Each new production of the show relies so heavily on the trio of actors cast - and this re-creation features three of the finest actors I know, who have had a long history of working in Washington, DC."

Reza's thought-provoking comedy features a trio of local favorites -- Mitchell Hébert (Helen Hayes nominee for The Drawer Boy; Clybourne Park), John Lescault (The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Angels in America (Parts 1 & 2) at Signature), and Michael Russotto (Helen Hayes nominations for She Stoops to Comedy and Vigils). The creative team features James Kronzer (scenic design), Kathleen Geldard (costume design), Mark Lanks (lighting design), Matt Rowe (sound design), with original musical works by Peter Lerman (winner of the 2010 Jonathan Larson Award).

Eric Schaeffer, Signature Theatre's Artistic Director, stated, "Audiences are in for an extraordinary evening of entertainment. The cast we have here is really second-to-none. And Matt has such a remarkable sense of creativity in his staging and a highly sophisticated approach to the art of storytelling - it truly makes him the ideal person to direct this particular show."

Performances of Art run from March 29, 2011 to May 22, 2011. Showtimes are Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7:30 pm, Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00 pm, Saturdays at 2:00 pm and 8:00 pm, and Sundays at 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm. A Funders' performance will take place on Tuesday, April 5. There will only be an 8pm performance on Saturday, April 2.

Signature Theatre will be hosting two ‘Pride Night' performances that will take place on Friday, April 15th and Friday, April 29th (both at 8:00pm).

Tickets range from $50 - $76 and are available by calling Ticketmaster at (703) 573-SEAT (7328) or visiting www.signature-theatre.org. Group discounts are available for parties of ten or more by contacting Bethany Shannon at shannonb@signature-theatre.org or by calling (571) 527-1831. For more information please visit www.signature-theatre.org.