Thearterworks RED
Theaterworks RED
Written by Howard Steven Frydman





Smart, Eloquent and Exciting
RED
At TheaterWorks in Downtown Hartford

Winner of the 2010 Tony Award for Best Play Runs March 23 through May 6, 2012

TheaterWorks presents the Connecticut premiere of RED by John Logan. RED is a raw and provocative exploration of an angry but brilliant artist - master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko.  In well-wrought language, John Logan creates a totally convincing portrait of Rothko as a visionary.  A superbly taut and compelling drama, this Tony Award winning play imagines a series of confrontations between Rothko and his young assistant, Ken. 
Tazewell Thompson, who staged TheaterWorks’ celebrated productions of Broke-ology, God of Carnage, RACE, The Mother----- With the Hat, and The Sty of the Blind Pig directs Jonathan Epstein (Rothko) and Thomas Leverton (Ken) in RED, the third play of the company’s 26th Season.

Master abstract expressionist Mark Rothko has just landed the biggest commission in the history of modern art, a series of murals for New York’s famed Four Seasons Restaurant. In the two fascinating years that follow, Rothko works feverishly with his young assistant, Ken, in his studio on the Bowery. But when Ken gains the confidence to challenge him, Rothko faces the agonizing possibility that his crowning achievement could also become his undoing.  RED creates a searing portrait of an artist's ambition and vulnerability as he tries to create a definitive work for an extraordinary setting.
The production’s design team includes Donald Eastman (Sets), Harry Nadal (Costumes), Stephen Quandt (Lights), and J Hagenbuckle (Sound).  Production Manager is Michael Lenaghan.
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Press:
"Intense and exciting … a study in artist appreciation, a portrait of an angry and brilliant mind that asks you to feel the shape and texture of  thoughts."


~ New York Times

“Smart, eloquent entertainment.”


~ The New Yorker

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"John Logan sends American abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko into battle with his demons in this electrifying play of ideas, and the artist's howls are pure music…Rothko is one old lion that will keep roaring until he draws his last breath."


~ Variety




When:
March 23 through May 6, 2012


Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays: 
7:30 p.m.

Fridays and Saturdays: 8:00 p.m.

Weekend Matinees:
2:30 p.m.

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Press Opening is Friday, March 30th at 8:00 p.m.
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Lobby and Gallery of American Art, sponsored by The Hartford Financial Services Group, opens 90 minutes prior to curtain; seating starts 60 minutes prior.
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A free matinee for college students & faculty is offered Saturday, April 7th at 2:30 p.m. sponsored by Bank of America.
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Where:
TheaterWorks
City Arts on Pearl - 233 Pearl Street in Downtown Hartford
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Parking: Discounted parking is available to TheaterWorks' patrons for $5 at CityPlace Garage (diagonally up Pearl Street from TheaterWorks), 100 Trumbull Centre Garage (enter next to Quiznos) and the Q Lot, (adjacent to the Metropolitan apartment building).

Admission: All Seats – General Admission
$50

Center Reserved Service Charge
$13

College-age Student Rush w/ID
$17 (subject to availability)

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Discounts are available for groups of 15 or more.

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For seats call (860) 527-7838.
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RED
is the 3rd play of TheaterWorks’ 2011-2012 Season.

It's not too late to subscribe! Three--play subscriptions for TheaterWorks' 2011-2012 Season which includes RED, are only $99. With TheaterWorks' unique subscription system patrons may attend a play any time they wish during its run, and are credited with free seats if they ever miss a play.

For more information, please visit www.theaterworkshartford.org
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TheaterWorks receives program support from Aetna, Bank of America, The Hartford Financial Services Group, Lincoln Financial Foundation, Travelers, and United Technologies Corporation, and general support from J. Walton Bissell Foundation, Connecticut Office of the Arts, Greater Hartford Arts Council, and Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
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Jonathan Epstein
JONATHAN EPSTEIN (Mark Rothko) TheaterWorks: Debut. New York / London / National Tour: The Merchant of Venice, Angels in America, Dirty Dancing, Man of La Mancha, Faust, A Meeting by the River. Regional:  50+ productions including As You Like It, King Lear, Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare & Company); Amadeus, Cuckoo’s Nest, Via Dolorosa, Educating Rita (Berkshire Theatre Festival); Paradise Lost, Merchant of Venice, Phaedra, Picasso at the Lapin Agile (American Repertory Theatre); Othello, Tempest (Boston Theatre Works); also Merrimac Repertory Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre, Intiman Theatre, Actor’s Theatre of Louisville, Charles Playhouse, Orlando Theatre Festival, Boston Lyric Opera, Utah Symphony, Boston Pops, Ensemble for the Romantic Century.  Film / TV: Something Borrowed, Law & Order, The Eyes Has to Travel.
Thomas Leverton

THOMAS LEVERTON
(Ken) TheaterWorks: Debut. Regional:  Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Pericles (American Theatre of Actors), Peter, Dracula (Dreamcatcher Repertory Theatre), Truth (Abingdon Theatre), Deathtrap (Ryan Little Theatre), Orgy in the Lighthouse (Theatre at St. Marks), Romeo and Juliet (Pax Amicus Castle Repertory Theatre). Education: Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, University of Utah.

JOHN LOGAN (Playwright) received the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critic Circle and Drama League awards for his play RED. This play premiered at the Donmar Warehouse in London and at the Golden Theatre on Broadway. He is the author of more than a dozen other plays including Never The Sinner and Hauptmann. His adaptation of Ibsen’s The Master Builder premiered on the West End in 2003.  FILM: Hugo, Coriolanus, Rango, Sweeney Todd (Golden Globe), The Aviator (Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, WGA nominations), Gladiator (Oscar, Golden Globe, BAFTA, WGA nominations), The Last Samurai, Any Given Sunday, RKO 281 (WGA award, Emmy nomination).

TAZEWELL THOMPSON
(Director) TheaterWorks:  The Sty of the Blind Pig, The Motherf----r with the Hat, Race, A Steady Rain, God of Carnage, Broke-ology. Stage Director: Arena Stage, Manhattan Theatre Club, The Public Theatre / New York Shakespeare Festival, Second Stage, Guthrie, Hartford Stage, Roundabout Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Syracuse Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Old Globe, Indiana Repertory, The Huntington Theatre, Delaware Theatre, People’s Light & Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, Classic Stage Company, Virginia Stage, The Cleveland Play House, San Jose Repertory, Soho Rep, The Acting Company, PlayMakers Repertory, MaYi Theater, Florida Stage, Northlight Theatre, The Laguna Playhouse, New Federal Theatre, Juilliard, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, University of Kansas, Sundance Theatre, Indiana University. Opera Director: New Orleans, New York City, Milan, Madrid, Paris, Tokyo, San Francisco, Boston, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Portland, Orange County, Columbus, New Jersey, Detroit, Indiana, Kansas. His production of Porgy and Bess at New York City Opera was broadcast on PBS’ Live from Lincoln Center, and received EMMY Nominations for Best Director and Best Classical Production.  Playwright: Constant Star (16 National Productions); A Christmas Carol (Commissioned by People’s Light & Theatre, produced for People’s Light & Theatre; Jam & Spice (Stage Adaptation of Kurt Weill music).  Commissions: Lincoln Center Theater, Arena Stage, South Coast Repertory, People’s Light & Theatre.  Awards: Constant Star (9 Barrymore Awards, 5 NAACP Awards, 3 Carbonell Awards - Best Play/Direction).