FPAC Presents Yasmina Reza's ART

The Franklin Performing Arts Company will open its 29th season this weekend with Yasmina Reza's award winning comedy Art at THE BLACK BOX in Franklin.

Serge has bought a modern painting for a huge sum of money. Marc hates it and cannot believe that a friend of his could possibly want such a work. Yvan attempts, unsuccessfully, to placate both sides. If your friendship is based on tacit mutual agreement, what happens when one person does something completely different and unexpected? Art directed by Nick Paone runs September 20-22 at THE BLACK BOX.

The production stars Greg Leach, Joe C. Burke, and Michael Baratta. Leach, playing Marc, is a frequent FPAC performer most recently seen in Seussical (Mr. Mayor). Other FPAC credits include Humbug! (Freddy Mac), Disney's Newsies (Wiesel, Roosevelt), Noises Off! (Gary Lejeune), Monty Python's Spamalot (King Arthur), God of Carnage (Michael Novak), Disney's The Little Mermaid (King Triton), The Crucible (Thomas Putnam), The Odd Couple (Murray), Othello (Lodovico), Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Monsieur D'Arque), A Glass Slipper Christmas (King of Hearts), and more. In addition to performing, Greg penned the most recent FPAC holiday panto Neverland's Ice Age: A Peter Panto.

Joe C. Burke is returning to FPAC in ART as Serge, after a two-year hiatus from the stage. He previously appeared in The Crucible, Little Shop of Horrors, Brigadoon, The Mikado, Plaza Suite, Bye Bye Birdie, and more with FPAC. Joe played the role of Col. Nathan Jessup in A Few Good Men with the Bridgewater Theater Co., and multiple parts in California Suite with the Newton Players, as well as roles with other regional theater companies in Massachusetts over the past two decades.

Rounding out the cast as Yvan, Michael Baratta is returning to FPAC for the third time, appearing last season in Cabaret (Ernst) and You Can't Take It With You (Mr. Kirby). Many moons ago, he almost committed to life as a professional actor, before leaving the world of the theatre for law school. Before that, he trained at The Juilliard School in New York and spent two summers acting at the Williamstown Theatre Festival; he also studied theatre at Williams College. A Hopkinton resident, he's been featured in a number of Enter Stage Left Theater productions, including Twelfth Night (Malvolio), Much Ado About Nothing (Benedick), The Glass Menagerie (Tom; EMACT DASH Award nominee, Best Actor), Blithe Spirit (Charles), and Arsenic and Old Lace (Jonathan).

For tickets and more information, visit www.FPAConline.com or call 508-528-3370. THE BLACK BOX is located at 15 W. Central St. in Franklin, MA.

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