THE REDEEMING POWER OF ART
Picture this. A white wall—or is it gray? or a blank canvas?—and a pale tile floor. Are we in an austere modern art museum or gallery? The lights go out and when they come up again, a man stands at the edge of the stage and begins to complain about his friend Serge (Michael Kaye) who has recently purchased a painting for 200,000 francs. The painting, we learn, consists of white diagonal lines against a white background.
That man exits to make way for Serge himself, who proceeds to complain about the previous man, whom we learn is called Marc (John Kuntz). Serge is outraged that Marc has called his newly acquired painting “shit.” He demands criteria for this judgment.
Next we see Marc repeating his sense of outrage over Serge’s painting to Yvan (Remo Airaldi). He describes the painting and asks Yvan to guess what Serge paid for it. Yvan shares Marc’s astonishment at the sum Serge has paid, but his reaction is more measured. He asks about the popularity of the artist and points out that the value of the painting is linked to the artist’s reputation. Despite his surprise at the sum paid, he is more measured in his response. “If it makes him happy,” he allows.
And thus, for the remainder of the Lyric Stage’s production of Yasmina Reza’s much-celebrated (1998 Tony for Best Play) and much-translated (over 30 languages; in English by Christopher Hampton) Art, we explore the relationship among these three close friends, men who have been part of one another’s lives for years but whose friendship comes unraveled as they debate the merits and shortcomings of Serge’s painting, a painting that he claims is not white, despite the evidence of our eyes.
Directed by Courtney O’Connor, it’s a play that leans heavily on script, and it’s a script that relies on the ability of the actors to milk lines like “Read Seneca!” for all their emotional potential—such a line might be offered in a tone of enthusiasm, arrogance, and eventually comedy. Airaldi, as the put-upon third wheel facing competing demands from rival mothers and stepmothers over his upcoming wedding, explodes with the rage of a man who has sacrificed so much of himself to retain friendship and find a family; Serge, the would-be connoisseur, eventually learns exactly why his painting so enrages his old friend Marc and finds a way to rescue the friendship that has been so much a part of his life. All three actors go through these emotional transformations while adhering to the core personality that marks each character.
Art is a comedy of manners that retains a scholarly coating. Intellectuals will be thrilled by the discussion of aesthetics and post-modernistic ideas such as “deconstruction.” Urbanites will identify with the underdeveloped and rather common characters as they struggle with puffery and sophistication. And hidden beneath the laughter, there is the profound sadness and loneliness that we’ve all felt when a friendship goes awry.
In the midst of their argument over the merits of Serge’s expensive painting, the three men come to understand the power of art to demand self-awareness and compassion and to invite creative solutions to seemingly intractable conflicts. It’s a process that never ends: Lyric Stage is holding a raffle, and one of the prizes is the painting that provides the prop at the center of this production. On our way home from the theater, I speculated about where my husband and I might hang that painting were we to win it and looked forward to telling guests the story behind it; my husband, on the other hand, sees no place for it in our house.
The saga of art continues.
photos by Mark S. Howard
Art
Lyric Stage Company
140 Clarendon Street in Boston
ends on March 16, 2025
for tickets, call 617.585.5678 or visit Lyric
for more shows, visit Theatre in Boston
