Alfred Molina Talks RED with LATimes

In a recent discussion with the Los Angeles Times, stage and screen star Alfred Molina discussed his reasons for choosing to do RED both at the Donmar Warehouse and for the Broadway transfer.

Molina said he was originally apprehensive about accepting the role, but upon reading the script, he was hooked. "By Page 21, I knew I had to do it," Molina told the Times. "I often tell people that when you read a play, the moment when you know you have to do it is not a punching-the-air moment. It's actually a sinking feeling because all your options disappear. Everything narrows down to this one thing you know you have to do."

Molina said he was especially drawn to the intricacies of his character, Mark Rothko. "It was telling a very real, very powerful story about an intelligent, troubled and conflicted man. You think, 'Wow, Rothko is demanding, difficult and a bully,' but at the same time you can't stop listening to him."

To read the full article from the Los Angeles Times, click here.

he critically acclaimed Donmar Warehouse production of RED, a new American play by John Logan about the master of twentieth century abstract impressionism, Mark Rothko, will open on Broadway on Thursday, April 1 for a limited 15-week engagement at the Golden Theatre (252 West 45th Street between Broadway and Eighth Avenue), it was announced today by producer Arielle Tepper Madover. Previews will begin on Thursday, March 11.

RED will star Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne, who created their roles in the world premiere production this winter at the Donmar. The production will be directed by Donmar artistic director Michael Grandage. RED will mark playwright Logan's Broadway debut.

Alfred Molina (Mark Rothko) For the Donmar: Destry Rides Again. Theatre: include Howard Katz (New York), Art (New York), Fiddler on the Roof (New York), Molly Sweeney (New York) The Cherry Orchard (Los Angeles), Night of the Iguana, Speed-the-Plow (National Theatre), Serious Money (Royal Court), Can't Pay? Won't Pay! (Criterion), Taming of the Shrew (RSC). Film: Silk, The Da Vinci Code, Spider Man 2, Boogie Nights, Anna Karenina, The Perez Family, Enchanted April, Prick Up Your Ears, Frida, Chocolat, Magnolia, As You Like It, The Hoax, Hideaway, Maverick, Raiders of the Lost Ark, An Education, The Tempest

RED is set in 1958 as New York artist Mark Rothko (Alfred Molina) has received the art world's largest commission to create a series of murals for The Four Seasons restaurant in the new Seagram building on Park Avenue. Under the watchful gaze of his young assistant, Ken (Eddie Redmayne) and the threatening presence of a new generation of artists, Rothko faces his greatest challenge yet: to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting. RED is a moving and compelling account of one of the greatest artists of the twentieth century, whose struggle to accept his growing riches and praise became his ultimate undoing.

RED opened December 8, 2009 at the Donmar to raves for John Logan's script, the performances of acclaimed stage and screen star Alfred Molina and newcomer Eddie Redmayne and Michael Grandage's production. "Intense, bitchily witty. A brilliantly acted production. Molina plays Rothko splendidly. Redmayne is thrilling to watch," wrote Paul Taylor, The Independent. "Michael Grandage's production is riveting. Audiences will find themselves engrossed and held rapt. Molina and Redmayne's individual strengths are remarkable, but it's the quality of their listening to each other that makes them mesmerizing," cheered David Benedict, Variety. "It's a measure of the play's success that it makes you want to rush out and renew acquaintance with Rothko's work. Michael Grandage's beautiful production is, as always, actor-driven," raved Michael Billington, The Guardian. "John Logan's stunning new play is the most compelling drama I've seen all year," hailed Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune. "Sizzling, intellectually thrilling. Michael Grandage's production is superb."

The production is designed by Christopher Oram, with lighting design by Neil Austin. Composer and sound designer is Adam Cork. RED will be produced by Arielle Tepper Madover.

Tickets ($116.50-$25) are available throughTelecharge.com by phone at 212-239-6200 or online at
www.telecharge.com.

Performances are Tuesday - Saturday at 8:00 PM with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00, Sunday at 3:00 PM. Beginning the week of April 12, Tuesday performances at 7:00 PM.

For more information, visit www.RedOnBroadway.com.