Friday, January 09, 2009

2:06 PM | Yasmina Reza's 'Art' Plays in the Luce Auditorium This Weekend in Dumaguete

The question is, will you buy this painting...



... for two million pesos?

Thus begins the drama that is Art.

Little Boy Productions, the company that brought Dumaguete City Tuesdays with Morrie and Love Letters, opens 2009 with Art, the provocative Tony award-winning comedy by Yasmina Reza, with a one-day staging at the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium on January 10, 2009.



Starring eminent Filipino thespians Bart Guingona, Audie Gemora, and Jaime del Mundo, Art is an engaging and hilarious look at the meaning of modern art and old-fashioned friendship. It has played to audience acclaim all over the world since it premiered in Paris in 1995. Art has won numerous awards, including the 1998 Tony Award for Best Play, and the 1997 Oliver Award for Best Comedy.

Directed by Bart Guingona, the comedy revolves around the longtime friendship of three middle aged, middle class men: Serge (played by Audie Gemora), Marc (played by Bart Guingona) and Yvan (played by Jaime del Mundo). The balance of their friendship is jeopardized when one member of the trio, Serge, purchases a pricey modern art painting, which happens to be completely white.

In this case, beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder as Serge seems to be the only one of the trio to see anything but a white canvas. Via the lively repartee between the actors throughout the plan, the audience comes to realize that true friendship is in itself a work-of-art in process. Just as one can develop an appreciation of a new genre of art when introduced to it, the men have to learn how to keep their bond of friendship strong. Much like Manhattan modern art enthusiasts must trek across the water to see the work they love at the MoMA’s temporary home in Queens, Serge and Marc must evaluate what lengths they are willing to go to in order to preserve their friendship.

Yasmina Reza began work as an actress, appearing in several new plays as well as Moliere and Marivaux. In 1987 she wrote Conversations After a Burial, which won the Moliere Award for Best Author. Following this, she translated Kafka’s Metamorphosis for Roman Polanski. Her second play, Winter Crossing, won the 1990 Moliere Award for Best Fringe Production, and her next play The Unexpected Man enjoyed successful productions in England, France, the Scandinavia and Germany and will open in New York in October. In 1995, Art premiered in Paris and went on to win the Moliere Award for Best Author. Since then it has been produced worldwide and translated into 20 languages.

SCHEDULED SHOWS:

10 January 2009
3 P.M. Matinee
8 P.M. Gala

TICKETS:

Matinee tickets at P100 and P150
Gala tickets at P150, P200, and P300


Tickets and Season Passes for the second half of the 2008-2009 Cultural Season are available at the College of Performing Arts Office and the Luce Auditorium Office, and at the theater lobby before every show. For inquiries and ticket reservations, please call/contact Gang-gang at (035) 422-6002 loc. 520. See posters for more details. Schedule may change without prior notice. For more information, please go to the Cultural Affairs Committee website.

Labels: art and culture, cultural affairs committee, dumaguete, negros, silliman, theater

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