The visual arts are getting a boost from the theater world
this month. Who knew that two different plays would celebrate the faux painter
Antrios! Perhaps celebrate isn’t the right verb. Maybe ‘indict’ is more to the
point. Bridge Rep opens MJ Halberstadt’s clever THE LAUNCH PRIZE this week
(running through March 20th) and Arts After Hours hosts Yasmina
Reza’s ART through March 19th. Antrios passes off an art student’s
work as his own in THE LAUNCH PRIZE and he’s painted the controversial
white-on-white canvas at the center of Reza’s ART. Busy fellow!
The coveted prize in Halberstadt’s keen, fast paced little
play will kick start only one career but four friends have applied for it.
Halberstadt constructs four scenarios for us, allowing us to see what could
happen in each case, like crime dramas do now on TV. He ramps up the
competition by introducing the notion that organizations seem to be reflecting
more diversity in their awards (the Academy Awards, notwithstanding.) Is that
because of more opportunities for artists of color, he posits, and therefore
more excellence OR are awards weighted in favor of diverse artists the way they
were for whites in the past?
The four art students in THE LAUNCH PRIZE are conveniently a
white male, an African-American woman, an Asian-American woman and a Hispanic
male. Despite the predictable posturing and resentments, Halberstadt has
created compelling characters who are far more than stand-ins for their genealogy.
Director Tiffany Nichole Greene’s cast is first class, with
lively performances from Angela K. Thomas as the driven artist who will
postpone her wedding to fulfill the obligations of the prize; from Bari
Robinson as the charming, canny operator who is ready to exploit the economic
advantages of winning; from Katharine Chen Lerner who refuses to sign her
paintings so as not to give away her background; and from John Tracey as the
affable “white guy” who sweetly tries but just doesn’t “get it.”
Who knew that ART would prove such a popular play? Arts After
Hours’ dazzling production (reviewed earlier) is being followed by Hub
Theatre’s production next month, starring IRNE nominees Victor Shopov, Bob
Mussett and John Geoffrion. I can’t wait to see their version.
