John Logan News

Dame Judi Dench has signed up to act in the West End once more this fall in a new play by John Logan. British actor Ben Whishaw is also slated for the cast, while Michael Grandage will direct. The show will move to Broadway if it is successful enough in London, according to today's New York Post.

During a scene of John Logan's Tony-winning "Red," soon to be presented at Performance Network Theatre, the artist Mark Rothko and his assistant reach a pivotal breakthrough when passionately arguing what the color red represents to them; lipstick, a heartbeat, the feeling of a sunrise. Inspired by this question -- what IS red? -- Performance Network Theatre has begun "Red All Over," a Community Art Project aimed at creating an artistic representation of Ann Arbor, using only the color red.

Cynical, angry artist Mark Rothko (Jonathan Epstein) hires a young idealistic assistant, Ken (Thomas Leverton) to work with him on his newest commission: a series of four murals to hang in the newly constructed Four Seasons Restaurant in Manhattan. A smart dialogue about painting and about American society unfolds with the teacher-student relationship transitioning. Ken's hopes that Rothko might be a friend, or even a mentor to replace the father he discovered murdered at a young age are dashed with every stroke of paint, however. The master's vision for companionship extends only to the relationship between the paintings. The end result is always the same for him: tragedy. Rothko is struggling with the futility of life and with putting his brilliance on the walls of a commercial enterprise where its full meaning of the color red might or might not be comprehended by the capitalists dining beneath it.

As the recent recipient of international critical acclaim as well as six Tony Awards, John Logan's drama, "Red," has brought the artist Mark Rothko out of the museums and onto stages across the country. Soon to be produced by Performance Network Theatre, "Red" chronicles two years in the life of Rothko, as he works feverishly on the then highest paid commission in history, for New York's Four Seasons Restaurant. In conjunction with the production, PNT and the Ann Arbor District Library are teaming up to bring community members a deeper look at Rothko's famed commission as well as his other life's works. Grant Mandarino, from the UM History of Art department, will be presenting a free lecture on Tuesday, May 8, from 7:00-8:30pm. The event will take place at Performance Network Theatre.

Center Theatre Group has announced that "Spring Awakening" and "Glee" actor Jonathan Groff will be featured opposite previously announced Alfred Molina in the Donmar Warehouse production of the 2010 Tony Award-winning Best Play "Red" by John Logan at the Mark Taper Forum, August 1 through September 9, 2012. The opening performance is scheduled for August 12.

Two critically acclaimed plays that are among the most compelling works in contemporary theater will make up the 2012-13 season of Nashville's Blackbird Theater, which embarks upon its third season of "intelligent entertainment" with productions of John Logan's Red and Peter Shaffer's Amadeus.

Today, Berkeley Repertory Theatre announced that it is extending its latest show for two weeks. Originally scheduled to close on April 29, RED adds 12 performances due to popular demand and now runs through May 12.

Artistic Director Chay Yew and Executive Director Jan Kallish announce the appointment of the new Victory Gardens Ensemble Playwrights: Philip Dawkins, Marcus Gardley, Samuel D. Hunter and Tanya Saracho.

Northern Stage, considered one of the most prestigious and fastest-growing regional theaters in New England, presents the Tony Award winning play, Red, through April 21. Red was first produced at the 250-seat Donmar Warehouse in London in December 2009, starring Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne. The production transferred to Broadway's John Golden Theatre, with the same cast, for a limited run, from March 11 - June 27, 2010. It picked up six Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Direction, and Best Performance by a Featured Actor (Redmayne), as well as three Drama Desk Awards, including Best Play.

2nd Story Theatre will produce Red, John Logan's award-winning play about abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, from March 2 through April 1.

This spring, Performance Network Theatre presents "Red," the six-time Tony Award-winning drama by John Logan. "Red" begins previewing on April 19 and runs through May 27, 2012. It is directed by Performance Network Executive Director, Carla Milarch and features Kevin Young and Mark Rademacher as the artist Mark Rothko.

The visceral and the tactile mix and swirl together with the heady intellectualness of the spoken word in this riveting play, making 'Red' a must-see performance at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.

John Logan's award-winning drama makes its way to the Historic Asolo Theater as a co-production with Maltz Jupiter Theatre at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art as a part of the 2011-2012 Asolo Repertory Theatre season.

Veteran stage actor Bob Ari stars as painter Mark Rothko. He has appeared on Broadway (FROST/NIXON, THE CONSTANT WIFE, BELLS ARE RINGING and LAUGHTER ON THE 23rd FLOOR), Off-Broadway and at regional theatres across the country, as well as landing parts in several television shows and movies. I recently had the opportunity to ask Ari a few questions about his role in RED …

Theatrically the questions of "What is art?" and "Can art be commercialized" are not new ones. But that is precisely what John Logan's Tony Award winning play "Red", currently playing at the Seattle Rep, is putting out there. And while not a new issue, the play still results in an interesting look into the mind of two artists, one established and one fledgling, and above all turns in some stellar performances from the actors involved.

Alley Theatre Artistic Director Gregory Boyd announces the cast and creative team for the Alley Theatre's production of the 2010 Best Play Tony Award Winner, Red.

What do you see when you see RED at Cleveland Play House? You see a strong, layered production of a thought-provoking play.

TheaterWorks presents the Connecticut premiere of RED by John Logan. RED is a raw and provocative exploration of an angry but brilliant artist - master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko. In well-wrought language, John Logan creates a totally convincing portrait of Rothko as a visionary. A superbly taut and compelling drama, this Tony Award winning play imagines a series of confrontations between Rothko and his young assistant, Ken.

If you've ever gone into an art gallery and seen a canvas with a large square within another square on a solid background, or a strip of color vertically slicing through a sea of solid color, you've been exposed to what may be classified as a painting of the anti-figurative aesthetic segment of the Abstract Expressionism movement. One of the most important painters of that school of art was Mark Rothko.