'Art' Ain't Easy...But Reza's Play Entertains

French playwright Yasmina Reza has achieved the triple play for Art winning the French Moliere Award for best play,  the Olivier Award for Best Comedy in London, and the Tony Award for Best Play. That is quite a pedigree.  I was fortunate to see the original cast in London which featured Albert Finney, Tom Courtney, and Alfred Molina. Baltimore's Everyman Theatre's decision to end the season with this play about three men and their relationships has turned out to be a smart one.

Why see Art? To see the best ensemble of actors I've seen all year in the Baltimore/Washington area. Chris Block (Marc), Karl Kippola (Serge) and Bruce R. Nelson (Yvan) work beautifully together under the superb direction of Jeremy Skidmore.

While the play is called Art it could easily be called Friendship. These three individuals have been friends for over 15 years. One is married, one is divorced, and one is about to marry. What concerns them is the recent acquisition of a minimalist painting that Serge paid $200,000 for.

Reza uses the painting and its price to get the three talking about life and their relationships.

The audience the night I attended laughed a lot and you will to. But it is also quite moving. I stayed after the performance for a talk-back with the cast who were all in shorts and sandals

More than sixty patrons stayed for an entertaining discussion of the play.  The fact that the playwright is French was mentioned many times. There was no answer to the question, " Do French men express themselves like this?"

Kippola makes his entrance on stage five minutes before the play is to begin while Phillip Glass piano music is heard. He was asked the reason. Kippola stated this was the director's idea to get the message out immediately about how enthralled he was starring at the painting. It was interesting that some audiences didn't care about what was on stage while others immediately went silent respecting what was occurring on stage.

There was a discussion about the cost of the painting. In the original text it was 200,000 francs which amounted to about $50,000. But director Skidmore wanted to make it more outrageous and that is why the script was changed to read $200,000.

The cast was asked if they would like to swap roles. Bloch commented if it was a LONG run, possibly. They all agreed there a lot of lines to learn.

They were asked if any had seen the play and Kippola responded that he saw the Broadway production and the Olney Theatre production but didn't remember much about his character.

There were others in the audience who saw the play in London, Broadway and the Coconut Grove Playhouse. The actors were in agreement that playing before 200 people in the intimate confines of the Everyman makes the play much more effective. And I certainly agree with that.

One woman was upset that people could be so cruel to each other. But a Priest put it all in perspective. He commented, "The beginning of the play was like an overture. The explosion was necessary." When he was asked if the three would remain friends he responded, "I believe in hope." Another commented, "Only the best of friends could fight like that."

"White - a blank page or canvas. Think of all the possibilities." That is taken from Sunday in the Park with George but it fits.  Art ends its run on June 29. You will never forget the experience.

For tickets call 410-752-2208.

For comments, email cgshubow@broadwayworld.com.

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