Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That’s what they always say, isn’t it. But what if you believe the beholder is an idiot, and what he thinks is beautiful is a piece of shit? That’s the opening premise of “Art“, which we saw last night at the Pasadena Playhouse.

“Art“, by Yasmina Reza, tells the story of three friends: Serge, Marc and Yvan—who find their previously solid 15-year friendship on shaky ground when Serge buys an expensive painting. The 5′x4′ painting has a white background, upon which there are some faint white diagonal lines. Serge (a dermatologist) is proud of his 200,000€ acquisition, and fully expects the approval of his friends. However, when his friend Marc, an engineer, sees the painting, he scornfully describes it as “a piece of white shit”. This sets of an exploration of not only what is art, but what is friendship, for it isn’t clear whether it the painting that offends him, or the uncharacteristic independence-of-thought that the purchase reveals in Serge? Added to this mix is the insecure Yvan. Yvan has just left his job in the textile trade to become a stationary salesman, plus he is about to be married. His friendship with Marc and Serge is safe, and he always attempts to make peace. This, of course, backfires. Eager to please he laughs about the painting with Marc but tells Serge he likes it. Pulled into the disagreement, his vacillations fuel the blazing row. Lines are drawn and the three square off over the canvas, using it as an excuse to relentlessly batter one another over various failures. As their arguments become less theoretical and more personal, they border on destroying their friendship. As this happens, the story becomes more and more hilarious… but I don’t want to spoil the ending.

The Pasadena Playhouse production of “Art” is one that makes me treasure not only the director, David Lee, but especially the actors who make this production something special. Translation: In this production, I could really see the talent of the actors, and what they bring to the production. No more was this seen better than the character of Yvan, played by Roger Bart. Bart portrays Yvan as a pure maniac, crazy in both action and deed, and hilarious everytime you see him because you have no idea what he is going to do. Equally crazy is Bradley Whitford as Marc. Whitford has equally great moves and reactions, and watching him play off of Bart is just hilarious. Lastly, as Serge (the fellow who bought the painting), Michael O’Keefe. Initially the stiffest of the three characters, his personality grows throughout the piece. The three together make a great ensemble that makes this piece a joy.
[All actors are members of æ Actors Equity ]

Turning to the technical: The set (designed by Tom Buderwitz) was simple: a modernistic apartment, with a greyish background. This allowed the focus to be on the acting. Similarly, the lighting by Jared A. Sayeg and the sound by Philip G. Allen were unobtrusive and seemed to be part of real world. This is good. Technical direction was by Brad Enlow. Jill Gold was Production Stage Manager, and Hethyr (Red) Verhoef was Asst. Stage Manager. Joe Witt was the Production Manager.

[Review posted at my blog as http://cahighways.org/wordpress/?p=5230]

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For those of us that attended high school during the Dawson's Creek/West Wing era - and actually liked watching both - this play is right up our alley. I purchased tickets for Art on a whim; I had no preexisting knowledge of this particular play and wasn't really sure what to expect. I wasn't more than 2 minutes into the performance when i realized that I was in for a special treat. All three performers delivered amazing performances. Each character was well developed, which was a bit surprising to me since Art's run time is not very long at all. Character interactions were amazing and the dialogue was smart and witty. On a side note: I was greek in college and spent a whole lot of time hanging out with my fraternity brothers (I'm 10 years removed from college and still do). I think i mostly loved watching the play because it gave all viewers a glimpse into platonic relationships between men - relationships that undergo the growing pains brought on by changing personalities and life in general.

I'll end this review by saying that Art is one of the better theater performances I've attended in a long time. It was great!

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Don't miss this production! Stellar performances, totally worth the ticket price, would go see it again!

Play is 90 minutes with no intermission, so use the bathroom beforehand. Parking lot behind theater or across the street from entrance, though you can also try side streets. We parked at Paseo Colorado for dinner, then walked three blocks over to the theater.

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Three musketeers dueling with words over "art"

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