Art – Westport Country Playhouse, Westport, CT, USA

Art, the Tony award-winning comedy by French Playwright and Novelist Yasmina Reza at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Connecticut, is brilliant! Plato said "Beauty lies in the eyes of the holder," which could be applied to the play whose plot is the purchase of an expensive painting and the reactions to it by three friends. Fast-paced witty dialogue makes for an evening of hilarity. Directed by Mark Lamos, Art runs from May 4 – 28, 2016.

This year the Westport Country Playhouse (WCP) opened their 2016 season a bit differently with two plays "in rep" and for those not familiar with the term "in repertory" it refers to "the presentation of multiple plays which can be performed in rotation" and for them that means presenting two plays, Art, a comedy written by French playwright Yasmina Reza and Red, a drama, written by John Logan, every other day.

Benton Greene (Marc) and Sean Dugan (Yvan)

What we especially enjoy about the WCP is that the directors and the casts always push the envelope when it comes to engaging and challenging audiences each season, and seeing the 2016 season’s opening plays, Art, and Red, concurrently, provide audiences with two intriguing looks at the world of art and artists.

John Skelley (Serge) and Sean Dugan (Yvan) 

Art, written by French playwright Yasmina Reza, with translation by Christopher Hampton, premiered in Paris on October 28, 1994, traveled to London’s West End in October 1996, ran on Broadway in New York City from February 12, 1998 until August 8, 1999, and won a Tony Award for Best Play. We first saw the play on Broadway in 1998 with its cast of Alan Alda (as Marc), Victor Garber (as Serge), and Alfred Molina (as Yvan) who was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play, and we were enchanted with its premise.

Benton Greene (Marc) and John Skelley (Serge)

On May 10, 2016, we saw the play Art again, this time at the Westport Country Playhouse and the play still kept us enthralled. Director Mark Lamos worked his magic to elicit tour-de-force from the well-credentialed talented cast of Sean Dugan as Yvan, Benton Greene as Marc, and John Skelley as Serge.

Benton Greene (Marc) and John Skelley (Serge)

Set in the main room of Serge’s flat, the plot revolves around Serge’s purchase of an expensive painting, and the reactions to it by his friends, Marc and Yvan. The result is a well-crafted look into how people often depend on their friends’ opinions to justify and verify their own, and when the views are not enthusiastically shared as one would hope, the results can be disastrous. The fast-paced, witty, and hilarious dialogue cut through human emotions that left us reflective at the end of the play, and had the audience on its feet for a standing ovation. Bravo!

Art Cast

The Creative Team

Performance Information: Running time for Art is 75 minutes with no intermission.

John Skelley (Serge), Benton Greene (Marc),
and Sean Dugan (Yvan)

For information on the play or to purchase tickets, please call the box office at 203-227-4177 or call the toll-free number at 888-927-7529, or visit them on the website at www.WestportPlayhouse.org.

The Westport Country Playhouse Box Office is open during Performance Days Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 pm until 8:30 pm, Saturday from 11:00 am until 8:30 pm, Sunday from 11:00 am until 3:30 pm, and is closed on Monday. Non-Performance Days, the Box Office is open Tuesday through Friday from 12:00 pm until 6:00 pm, and is closed on Monday.

The Westport Country Playhouse named as "Theatre Company of the Year" in December 2013 by The Wall Street Journal, opened in the 1930s in a transformed 1835 cow barn, which has, and continues to attract, a "who’s who" of prominent actors. Looking at the framed posters of past shows that line the lobby walls was like entering an encyclopedia of the arts. A few of the many renowned actors who have appeared on the stage there include Ethyl Barrymore, Dorothy and Lillian Gish, Tallulah Bankhead, Gloria Swanson, Don Ameche, Hume Cronin and Jessica Tandy, Jane Fonda, Danny Aiello, Blythe Danner, Jill Clayburgh, Richard Dreyfus, Whoopi Goldberg, Liza Minnelli, Bernadette Peters, Lynn Redgrave, Gene Wilder, and Westport residents Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman.

"Westport Country Playhouse, a not-for-profit theater, serves as a cultural nexus for patrons, artists and students and is a treasured resource for the State of Connecticut.  There are no boundaries to the creative thinking for future seasons or the kinds of audiences and excitement for theater that Westport Country Playhouse can build."

For information on upcoming events and other performances, please visit the website: www.WestportPlayhouse.org.

Upcoming Performances in 2016 – 2017

Westport Country Playhouse  
25 Powers Court
Westport, Connecticut  06880
United States
Box Office:     +1-203-227-4177
Toll-Free:       +1-888-927-7529
Fax:                +1-203-454-3239
Box Office:     +1-203-227-4177
Website:         www.WestportPlayhouse.org
Facebook:       www.Facebook/WestportCountryPlayhouse

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