by Harry Duke *

The age-old art versus commerce debate takes center stage in The 222’s production of John Logan’s Red. Amy Kossow directs the factually-based but fictionally woven two-hander about artist Mark Rothko that’s now running at the Paul Mahder Gallery in downtown Healdsburg through Sept. 20.  

For those unfamiliar with Rothko, he’s generally categorized as a member of the Abstract Expressionism movement of mid-20th century modern American art, though he would frequently debate that. His contemporaries would include such artists as Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Rothko’s best known works feature large, rectangular blocks of color.

In 1958, Rothko was commissioned by the Seagram’s Corporation to produce a series of murals that were to hang in the Four Seasons restaurant in their soon-to-be-finished corporate tower on Park Avenue in Manhattan. He produced the murals but eventually reneged on the agreement. Logan’s play imagines the circumstances that led to that.  

The show opens with Rothko (Robert Parsons) alone in his Bowery studio. A knock at the door indicates the arrival of Ken (Tasi Alabastro), a graduate student that Rothko has hired to assist him with the more mundane and menial tasks like prepping canvases and getting coffee. Rothko makes it clear he will not be Ken’s teacher, mentor, or friend. Ken is nothing more to him than an employee. He then spends the next two years (90 minutes on stage) teaching, mentoring, and befriending him.

A series of conversations/debates/arguments ensue over such things as the meaning of color (red, black, and white, specifically), art’s purpose, who should or shouldn’t see it, and questions of generational change, relevance and legacy. Through these conversations, we witness Ken’s growth and Rothko’s increasing clarity with what he must do with his commission. 

Two strong performances anchor this production. Parson’s take on Rothko allows us to see through the pretentiousness and pomposity of the ego-filled artist and into the fears that haunt us all. Alabastro comes off a bit too much as a babe in the woods at the show’s start, but gives as good as he gets by the show’s end.    

The 222 continues to up their game with more dynamic technical elements. Set designer Erin Partridge had a head start with the use of the art gallery for the setting but adds the detail necessary to transform the display space it into a working studio. The creative use of sound, color, and lighting are crucial to his show and sound designer Marisa Whitmore and lighting designer John Bernard came through.

Audiences seeking to engage in a vibrant philosophical debate would do well to see Red.

‘Red’ runs through September 20 at The 222, 222 Healdsburg Ave., Healdsburg. Thur & Sat, 7pm; Sun, 2 pm. $35-$105. Students free with ID. 707.473.9152. the222.org  

Photo by Paul Mahder

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This review originally appeared in an edited version in The Healdsburg Tribune.