RED at San Diego Repertory Theatre

John Logan’s scripts for “The Gladiator” and “The Aviator” were both nominated for Academy Awards. He won a Golden Globe with Tim Burton for his film version of the musical Sweeny Todd. He co-wrote the recent James Bond film “Skyfall” and is slated to write the next two Bond films. Inspired by the work of legendary artist Mark Rothko, Logan has returned to his first love - playwriting - and the result is triumphant.

In 2010, RED won six Tony Awards®, including Best Play! This larger-than-life portrait of an angry and brilliant artistic mind is a fearless piece of work that dares to reveal the mysteries of the creative process. Logan invites you to feel the shape, texture, and emotional color of Mark Rothko’s demons and muses.

The story is set in 1958 at a critical point in the career of the superstar abstract expressionist painter. Rothko has been challenged to create a definitive work of art for the exclusive Four Seasons restaurant. His problem: the threatening presence of a neophyte assistant, a voice of a new generation of artists that question Rothko’s theories and label him a sell-out. Surrounded by massive black and red canvases that pulsate with color, the result is an exhilarating and combative battle between student and master in search of the very highest art possible.