Under the watchful gaze of his young assistant and the threatening presence of a new generation of artists, Mark Rothko takes on his greatest challenge yet: to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting. Red is a moving and compelling account of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century whose struggle to accept his growing riches and praise became his ultimate undoing.
What Is the Story of Red?
It is the late 1950s and Mark Rothko, the famous Abstract Expressionist painter, is at a crossroads in his career. Intellectual, controlling and often bombastic, Rothko is at work on a surprising (and very well-paid) commission: a series of murals to hang at the Four Seasons restaurant in Midtown Manhattan’s Seagram’s Building. The play takes place in Rothko’s studio, where he works with the help of a smart, young assistant. The action follows the artist’s struggle for integrity and understanding in the face of fame, self-questioning and impending irrelevance. Will his paintings survive in a place that represents everything—greed, commercialism, bourgeois comfort—he detests?
""A fresh, exciting portrait of a brilliant mind. The dauntless Mr. Molina gives his strongest Broadway performance to date. Possessiveness and perplexity glitter in his eyes like a fever. Mr. Redmayne’s Ken has a spine and a mind of his own, and you can feel both growing stronger throughout the play. Mr. Grandage is a canny craftsman of the theater, and he makes sure that the play’s intellectual arguments are sensually grounded.""
The New York Times
Ben Brantley
""Finally a truly intelligent play on Broadway! Red is a compelling example of how a thinking theater can simultaneously entertain and educate. Molina and Redmayne are superb.""
Bloomberg News
John Simon
"" So intense. An electrifying play! Molina turns in a robust portrait of the artist as a man of fierce intelligence and ferocious drive. Redmayne is admirably cool and subtle.""
Variety
Marilyn Stasio