Art

 Art
The Music Box
November 19, 2025

Photo courtesy of Art

The Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza’s Art is stunning.  Director Scott Ellis explores every moment of Christopher Hampton’s translation, giving each member of this stellar cast the chance to dive deeply into their character’s sense of identity in their friendship, and genuinely respond to their wounded egos and hurt feelings.  The rhythm and timing are impeccable.  The play lands with a beautiful balance of satisfaction and apprehension.

Serge (played by Neil Patick Harris) buys a work of modern art, a painting, four ft. by five ft., all white, for $300,000.  When his friend, Marc (played by Bobby Cannavale) sees it, he calls it a “piece of shit.”  Marc is surprised at Serge’s response to his comment, so he seeks out Yvan (played by James Corden) for corroboration on his assessment.  When Yvan sees the painting, he hides his true feelings and becomes the peacekeeper between Marc and Serge.  Yvan has his hands full with his upcoming wedding plans.  The stress of that makes it difficult for him to balance Marc and Serg’s needs and resolve their dispute.  The three friends voice unspoken resentment that has built up over twenty-five years.  Perhaps they have gone too far.

James Corden, Bobby Cannavale, & Neil Patrick Harris
Photo courtesy of Art

The three roles are perfectly cast.  Bobby Cannavale plays Marc as the alpha male.  He does not hold back speaking his mind when Serge spends that high an amount of money on something he sees as worthless.  Serge expects his best friend to share in the joy of his purchase.  Neil Patrick Harris portrays Serge’s disappointment and hurt with arrogance and defensiveness.  This pushes Marc’s buttons even more, no matter how hard he tries to hold his tongue.  The pride in these characters is high, and these two skilled actors shade this antagonistic battle in every way imaginable. 

Neil Patrick Harris & James Corden
Photo courtesy of Art

James Corden is delightful as Yvan, delivering hearty laughs, often at his own expense.  When he reaches the end of his rope in placating his two best friends, Yvan must step up.  He speaks from his authentic self, surprising all three of them.  James Corden gets laughs even in that moment, filling it with sincerity and energy.

Art received a lot of attention when it originally opened on Broadway in 1998.  The premise of purchasing a questionable work of art for such an exorbitant price was highly controversial at the time.  They raised the price paid for the artwork from that production to make it relevant in today’s economy.  Either way, it is the examination of the roles and expectations in a long-term friendship that makes this play timeless. 

Art is playing at The Music Box through December 21.  It is a riveting revival. 

Domenick Danza

Medea

Medea

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Harvey Theater

January 18, 2019

Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Acadmey of Music

Medea, written and directed by Simon Stone, is a chilling retelling of the Euripides tragedy.  It is produced by BAM, Internationaal Theater Amsterdam, and David Lan, and playing at the Harvey Theater.  The cast, lead by Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, is brilliant.  The action is magnified by camera work and large projections.  Mr. Stone chooses to tell the most dramatic parts of the story through narrative.  The psychic distance in the narrative combined with the close-up camera work create stunning effects and intense emotional engagement.  

Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, Simon Stone, & Dylan Baker
Photo courtesy of Brooklyn Academy of Music

Anna (played by Rose Byrne) is released from a short stay at a mental facility.  Her husband, Lucas (played by Bobby Cannavale), is there to pick her up, along with their two sons (played by Gabriel Amoroso and Emeka Guindo).  The boys are happy to see their mother.  It is clear that Lucas and Anna are separated and that Lucas is seeing someone else, but the details are purposefully avoided.  Anna manipulates Lucas into spending the night with her and the boys.  She later reveals the reason for her hospital stay.  She started poisoning Lucas when she found out about his affair with Clara (played by Madeline Weinstein).  She acts as if his on-going relationship with Clara is not an issue, until Lucas tells her that Clara is pregnant.  When Lucas is relocated with his job and decides to take the boys with him, Anna crosses deeper into the darkness of her illness.

Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale are powerful together.  They are strongly connected and enact a web of manipulation, guilt, compassion, and denial that push Anna to the point of no return.  Ms. Byrne calmly plays Anna as a woman on the edge.  She is in total control and  portrays Anna’s break from reality with complete conviction.  You feel for her, until her actions take an extreme turn.  Mr. Cannavale portrays levels of loyalty, devotion, and indecision in the character of Lucas.  His performance is truthful and genuine.  He character is unaware of how he enables Anna in her plan. 

Medea is playing downtown Brooklyn at BAM Harvey Theater through February 23.  It is a haunting and unique retelling of the Medea story.  Don’t miss it!

Domenick Danza

The Hairy Ape

The Hairy Ape

The Park Avenue Armory

March 25, 2017

Photo courtesy of The Hairy Ape at the Park Avenue Armory

The production of Eugene O’Neil’s The Hairy Ape, now playing at the Park Avenue Armory and produced in partnership with The Old Vic in London, is a larger than life experience.  Director Richard Jones’ vision is titanic.  Designer Stuart Laing uses the vastness of the Armory space in ways that make your jaw drop.  His design gels with lighting by Mimi Jordan Sherin and sound by Sarah Angliss to magnify the power of the characters, make them feel small when encountering the larger world, and then encage them in isolation and loneliness.  Bobby Cannavale is riveting in the title role, leading an ensemble cast of brilliant actors in Eugene O’Neill’s classic, naturalistic tale.

Bobby Cannavale in rehearsal for The Hairy Ape
Photo courtesy of The Park Avenue Armory

Yank (played by Bobby Cannavale) is the fiercest of Stokers, keeping the coal fires burning in the bowels of a massive ocean liner.  He claims it is his strength and endurance that keeps the tons of steel moving in the open waters.  When Mildred Douglas (played by Catherine Combs), daughter of millionaire steel magnate, faints at the sight of him stoking coal, she calls him a hairy ape.  This sets Yank on a journey through the streets of New York City to find her.  Whether motivated by love, lust, or revenge, he is lead to the realization that he does not fit in anywhere in the class system of the day.

Photo courtesy of The Hairy Ape at The Park Avenue Armory

The themes of Eugene O’Neil’s play are viscerally understood as every element of this production comes together.  The audience, sitting in bright “yellow” seats, becomes a part of the rendition of Mr. O’Neil’s class system.  You identify with Yank as his physical strength leads the other Stokers to succeed at their backbreaking work, then struggles to redeem his lost sense of purpose.  Choreography by Aletta Collins is crisp and sharp.  The physicality of this production has a vitality that serves to establish the setting and tone of the experience and drives the action forward.

The Hairy Ape is playing at the Park Avenue Armory through April 22.  You have to experience the magnitude of this production.  It is a true testament to the potency of Eugene O’Neil’s writing.  

Domenick Danza