Young Critics

As I entered the theater at Delaware Theatre Company for a production of ‘Art’, I glanced at the tagline on the program. “Friends don't let friends choose their own art.” Immediately, I was intrigued by the intellectual comedy the short description promised to provide. I was struck at once by the set – an upscale apartment with wall and floor panels that suggested the contemporary circumstances in which the play takes place. Lights at the beginning of the show, designed by one Joshua Schulman, enhanced the experience by alternating colored darkness with moments of neutral brightness, highlighting the changing moods of the dynamic characters. Such artistic attention, revealed even before the first word is uttered, provides a powerful introduction to a certainly unique theatrical experience.

The first lines of the play – delivered by the character Marc (Stephen Patrick Martin) in a revealing monologue that presents the surface conflict as a quarrel over a misunderstood painting purchased by Serge (James Michael Reilly) for a large sum of money. Further dialog, punctuated by asides that demonstrate the reflections of the characters, and comic relief courtesy of third friend Yvan (Pete Pryor) reveals a conflict centered around the general demands placed on a friendly relationship devoid of unrestricted communication. The theme of communication, trust, and selflessness in relationships is effected by combined efforts from the three compelling performances by Reilly, Martin, and Pryor that demonstrate careful understanding of their characters’ unique flaws delivered with confidence and without restriction. David Stradley’s effective direction provided seamless transitions that revealed scene change without confusion or obtrusive set changes as well as careful choreography of a build-up of tension that releases at a satisfying climax as the friends finally discuss their pent up anguish in an energetic argument over the aforementioned painting.

In spite of the endlessly truthful acting, careful direction, and striking lighting and set design, I found myself resisting the urge to ignore the warning delivered by necessity at the show’s beginning: “No text messaging during the performance.” The verbal emphasis on the plot’s development led the play read at some points as a long argument that grew bigger and bigger as time progressed. Such an atmosphere, I felt, could be won by spending a long weekend in a small space with my younger sisters and little entertainment. Though it accurately represented the growing tensions between the characters, the constant argument likewise led audiences to focus less on what was being said and more on the grating delivery. The argumentative atmosphere was balanced at last in the climax which resolves the conflict in one swift and bold action on Marc’s part which left the audience, at last, able to contemplate the highly symbolic nature of the surface conflict and the significance of the painting discussed. As I walked out of the theatre, I remarked that I as of then was not entirely sure how I felt about Art. I was intrigued by the ending at the same time as being put off by grating development of the plot.

Regardless of any shortcomings embedded in playwright Yasmina Reza’s very script, ‘Art’is certainly effective in achieving its goal to cause audiences to examine the strain placed on platonic relationships, a circumstance seldom explored in the romantically persuaded medium of theater. Most indicative of its success is the impact it leaves on audiences. After seeing the show, and for days later, I found myself returning to the symbolism apparent in some of the major discussions of the unique painting in question. ‘Art’, while rife with bickering and the biting tempers of three friends, is a rare play that remains with audiences long after the actors have left the stage.