The age-old art-vs.-commerce debate takes center stage in The 222’s production of John Logan’s Red. Amy Kossow directs the factually based but fictionally woven two-hander about artist Mark Rothko that’s now running at the Paul Mahder Gallery in downtown Healdsburg through Sept. 20.
For those unfamiliar with Rothko, he’s generally categorized as a member of the Abstract Expressionism movement of mid-20th century modern American art, though he frequently debated that. His contemporaries included such artists as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Rothko’s best-known works feature large, rectangular blocks of color.
In 1958 the Seagram’s Corporation commissioned Rothko to produce a series of murals that were to hang in the Four Seasons restaurant in its soon-to-be-finished corporate tower on Park Avenue in Manhattan. He produced the murals but eventually reneged on the agreement. Logan’s play imagines the circumstances that led to that.
The show opens with Rothko (Robert Parsons) alone in his Bowery studio. A knock at the door indicates the arrival of Ken (Tasi Alabastro), a graduate student Rothko has hired to assist him with the more mundane and menial tasks like prepping canvases and getting coffee. Rothko makes it clear he will not be Ken’s teacher, mentor or friend. Ken is nothing more to him than an employee. He then spends the next two years—90 minutes on stage—teaching, mentoring and befriending him.
A series of conversations/debates/arguments ensue over such things as the meaning of color—red, black and white, specifically—art’s purpose, who should or shouldn’t see it, and questions of generational change, relevance and legacy. Through these conversations, we witness Ken’s growth and Rothko’s increasing clarity with what he must do with his commission.
Two strong performances anchor this production. Parson’s take on Rothko allows the audience to see through the pretentiousness and pomposity of the ego-filled artist and into the fears that haunt us all. Alabastro comes off a bit too much as a babe in the woods at the show’s start, but gives as good as he gets by the show’s end.
The 222 continues to up its game with more dynamic technical elements. Set designer Erin Partridge had a head start with the use of the art gallery for the setting but added the detail necessary to transform the display space into a working studio. The creative use of sound, color and lighting are crucial to his show, and sound designer Marisa Whitmore and lighting designer John Bernard came through.
Audiences seeking to engage in a vibrant philosophical debate would do well to see Red.
‘Red’ runs through Sept. 20 at The 222, 222 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. Thu & Sat, 7pm; Sun, 2pm. $35-$105. Students free with ID. 707.473.9152. the222.org
