Arena Stage ushers in 2012 with a Tony Award-winning play, John Logan’s “Red,” produced in association with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, where it was a smash hit last fall. Directed by Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls, “Red” will star four-time Helen Hayes Award winner Edward Gero. “Red” focuses on the life of the inspired painter Mark Rothko, perhaps best known for his massive paintings that feature blocks of rich, vibrant colors. The play takes place at the height of Rothko’s career, when he was preparing a series of paintings for New York’s Four Seasons Restaurant.
“I spent a significant amount of time in the Rothko Room at the Phillips Collection,” said Gero. “The curator there invited me to come back when the museum was closed, so I spent several hours by myself with the paintings. It was an incredible experience.
| Onstage |
| ‘Red’ |
| Where: Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW |
| When: Through March 11 |
| Info: $40 to $85; 202-488-3300; arenastage.org |
“Actually, I read the play to the paintings. It was fun. There are very specific instructions in the play that Rothko has his assistant carry out in terms of the paintings. So I read the instructions, then did what Rothko told me to do — at least John’s version of Rothko.”
In order to represent Rothko, Gero said, “I’ve tried to think of a metaphor for him, in terms of his emotional life, his character traits. He was such a great thinker and writer. At times he was like a bull or a bear, sometimes disconnected from his body. I met a student of Rothko’s who told me his shoelaces were always untied, so I borrowed that.”
There’s a second character in “Red,” Rothko’s assistant, Ken, played by Patrick Andrews. “The character is fictitious,” said Gero. “He functions as Rothko’s external conscience. He’s younger, he represents a new generation and a new aesthetic, making the play into a work about a master and a protege, a father and son. We learn about Rothko through Ken’s eyes, and as he matures, the conflict grows because he begins to challenge Rothko and his ideas.”
Rothko was one of America’s most eloquent painters and he wrote beautifully about his work. “He and his colleagues were searching for new modes of expression,” Gero explained.”I think he was very influenced by his love of music, wanting to raise the painting to the level of a sonata, something that indicated pure emotional experience.”
In “Red,” Gero gets to experience not just Rothko’s ideas but also the way he worked. “There is a large blank canvas which Ken and I stretch and prime together,” Gero said. “We paint a base coat. In terms of language, ‘Red’ is a great play about the business of art. It’s also a wonderful examination about the process of creating art.”
