Empire Stage to Present Yasmin Reza's ART

How much would you pay for a white painting? Would it matter who the painter was? Would it be art? These are just some of the questions that are asked, but not necessarily answered in Yasmina Reza's award-winning play, ART. ART will open at Empire Stage on April 29th and run through May 15th.

ART is a fascinating, clever, and often comedic exploration of both art and friendship. Serge, one of a trio of three long-time friends indulges his penchant for modern art and buys a large, expensive, completely white painting. His friend Marc is horrified, and their relationship suffers considerable strain as a result of their differing opinions about what constitutes "art". The third member of the trio, Yvan, caught in the middle of the conflict, tries to please and mollify both of them. As their discussions move from the theoretical to the personal, the three friends are forced to ask questions not only about the nature of art, but about the nature of friendship.

Yasmina Reza's ART premiered in 1994 at Comédie des Champs-Élysées in Paris. The play, translated by Christopher Hampton, subsequently ran in London in 1996 and on Broadway in 1998 and garnered numerous awards during all three runs, including the Molière Award for Best Commercial Production, the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy, the New York Drama Critics' Circle for Best Play, and the Tony Award for Best Play. ART has been produced in 30 countries and translated from the original French into 45 languages.

"I have been wanting to direct and work on ART for several years", says the show's director, Amir Darvish. "To me, productions that really resonate are those that delve deep into relationships and how those bonds are tested. I want to make audiences think and laugh at the same time. How a simple event can mean so many things to different people and the viewing audience. What can we tolerate? When do we speak up? Who are our friends?"

Empire Stage Executive Producer David R. Gordon agrees wholeheartedly. "I am very excited to be working with Amir Darvish on this project. ART is not the type of play we typically do here at Empire Stage, and I am very curious to see how many of our regular patrons show up to see it."

Darvish has cast Dean Nigro as Yvan, Ben Prayz as Serge, and David R. Gordon as Marc. Gordon recently garnered excellent reviews in Pigs Do Fly Productions' 2 Across.

Brian Bloomer will serve as ART's Stage Manager, Preston Bircher is the show's Lighting Designer, Dean Landhuis is the Set Designer, and David Hart is the show's Sound Designer.

Tickets for ART are $35 and are available online at www.empirestage.com or by calling 954-678-1496. Performances are on Friday and Saturday at 8 pm, and on Sunday at 5 pm. All performances will take place Empire Stage, 1140 N. Flagler Drive, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304.

Pictured: Amir Darvish (www.amirdarvish.com)
Photo Credits: Paul McDermott Photography

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