Art mixes friendship, rage, white paint

Image courtesy City Theatre

Art
Thru 6/08, Th-Sa @8pm, Su @5:30pm
City Theatre (3823 Airport Blvd.)
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Oh sure, there’s a painting at the center Yesmina Reza’s 1998 Tony Award-winning play, and a curious painting at that: it’s a completely white canvas with barely-visible diagonal brushstrokes. But Art is not about a painting.

The painting’s owner, Serg (Sean Martin), dropped 200,000 francs on the thing, and couldn’t be more proud of it. His friend Marc (Ryan Crowder) is abhorred that Serg would spend so much on what Marc considers “bullshit.” Their mutual friend Yvan (Nathan Jerkins), well, he’s got heavier things on his mind, like his upcoming wedding and a new job shilling stationary. Not that Serg and Marc will allow Yvan to remain sans opinion.

It’s the relationship between Serg, Marc and Yvan that is the true concern of Art. The white painting (“The Andrios” as Serg is fond of calling it, evoking the name of its fictional creator), is merely the catalyst for the exploration of that relationship and how decisions in careers, lifestyles, romances and philosophies have stretched it to the point of snapping. As the events of one tense night at Serg’s place play out, it nearly does.