THE FINE ART OF A THREE-MAN MASTERPIECE

Yasmina Reza’s Art returned to Broadway last night starring Neil Patrick Harris, Bobby Cannavale, and James Corden, and it is a tight, acidic joyride through ego and insecurity, wickedly funny. If you have ever done the silent math of friendship: who listens, who cares, who gives more, who takes too much, who is riding on nostalgia, or just asked yourself “would we be friends if we met today?,” this play is for you.

Bobby Cannavale and Neil Patrick Harris

Directed by Scott Ellis at the Music Box Theatre, Art starts with a simple premise, almost a Hitchcock’s MacGuffin: Serge, a dermatologist, buys a $300,000 all-white painting and, suddenly, a 25-year relationship with his two best friends is on the line. Harris plays Serge as a man intoxicated by the avant-garde, treating the minimalist canvas like a spiritual object. Cannavale’s Marc is stunned, responding not only with criticism but total disbelief, as if Serge had joined a cult. He squints, literally and figuratively, searching for meaning. Meanwhile, Corden’s Yvan is caught in the crossfire, the human equivalent of a beige sofa: eager to smooth things over but steadily unraveling under the pressure. As the men debate the value of art, what is really on trial is the value of their friendship; the canvas may be blank but it reflects everything they have avoided saying for years.

Bobby Cannavale

What powers this revival is the electric triangle formed by its talented leads: Harris’s Serge is slick but shaky beneath the surface, the perfect cocktail of charm and hidden neurosis; Cannavale’s Marc is the emotional bulldozer, blustering his skepticism with a bit of egotism and wounded pride; and Corden’s Yvan is the tragic clown whose meltdown steals the show. Together, they interplay laughs and raw emotion with exquisite timing.

James Corden

Ellis heightens this thematic tension by maintaining a stripped-back, emotionally focused staging. There are no distractions, just three men, their history, and a blank painting. This minimalism makes clear that this is not a sitcom, even if sometimes its theme resembles a Seinfeld’s episode, but a study of identity and affection. David Rockwell’s set design supports this emotional clarity with a clean, modern apartment space; costume designer Linda Cho, lighting designer Jen Schriever, and sound designer Mikaal Sulaiman contribute to an atmosphere that is both intimate and theatrically charged. Adding a contemporary edge is the original score by Kid Harpoon; the synth-infused soundtrack adds a needed undercurrent that doesn’t overpower the dialogue-driven action.

James Corden, Neil Patrick Harris and Bobby Cannavale

Art premiered in 1994 and won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1998. More than 30 years later, its sharp exploration of friendship, ego, and the subjectivity of value remains relevant. Do we owe our friends agreement? Loyalty? Protection? Acceptance? And what happens when those expectations no longer align? Luckily, Cannavale, Harris, and Corden know just how to heal (at least for 90 minutes) those friendship wounds and, honestly, after all the crappy, petrifying news we get every day, who couldn’t use a very good, long laugh?

Neil Patrick Harris and James Corden

photos by Matthew Murphy

Art
Music Box Theatre, 239 W 45th St
ends on December 21, 2025
for tickets, call 212.239.6200 or visit Art or Telecharge