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— David Coomber and Jim Mezon. Photo by Bruce Zinger. RED TONY AWARD-WINNING PLAY RED STOPS IN VANCOUVER ON A CROSS-COUNTRY TOUR! The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company, in co-production with Canadian Stage and The Citadel Theatre, present John Logan’s Tony Award-winning play, Red. This stark and passionate production explores the life and work of celebrated Abstract Expressionist painter Mark Rothko as he struggles to create a masterpiece in the face of fame, fortune and commercialism. Red will be on stage at the Vancouver Playhouse from January 14 to February 4, 2012 (Opening Night: January 19). Tickets from $33 to $59 are available online at www.vancouverplayhouse.com, by phone at 604 873 3311, or in person at the theatre box office (at Hamilton & Dunsmuir). Following its Vancouver run Red will play at The Citadel Theatre in Edmonton from February 11 to March 4, 2012. In Vancouver Red is generously sponsored by Hyphen Communications. Written by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and playwright JOHN LOGAN (Gladiator, The Aviator) and directed by Electric Company Theatre’s Artistic Associate and Siminovitch Prize-winning director KIM COLLIER (Studies in Motion), Red introduces audiences to the compelling artist Mark Rothko and his young assistant, Ken. Set in his studio in the late 1950s, the play is a fictionalized account of one of Rothko’s historic artistic commissions: to create a series of murals for the new Four Seasons restaurant in the Seagram Building in New York City. As he paints, Rothko begins to question the project he’s committed to and his role as an artist. When he sees that his great commission will reduce his paintings to being merely decorative rather than transformative, he confronts this new truth through a visceral and passionate debate of ideas, art and relevance.
THE CAST: One of Canada’s leading stage actors and Shaw Festival veteran JIM MEZON plays the role of Mark Rothko with up-and-coming actor DAVID COOMBER portraying his assistant (and aspiring painter) Ken. This pairing between an experienced actor and an emerging performer echoes the master-apprentice relationship between their respective characters and brings an added layer of depth to the performance. THE CREATIVE TEAM: Grounded in months of comprehensive research, the creative team has built a stage and set that theatrically mirror Rothko’s 1950s working conditions. Former Barenaked Ladies musician ANDY CREEGGAN composes an original score inspired by the music Rothko listened to while painting. DAVID BOECHLER’s set and costume design evokes Rothko’s historic New York studio space and ALAN BRODIE’s lighting reflects the particular light in which Rothko worked and displayed his pieces. A series of accurate reproductions of Rothko’s infamous “Seagram Murals” were painted by scenic artists at HAMILTON SCENIC SPECIALITY INC. Finally, video projections based on the artistic movements of the period by cinematographer BRIAN JOHNSON give a framework to the conversations happening on stage. The creative team also includes KER WELLS, Assistant Director; JUNG HYE KIM, Assistant Designer; JASON HAND, Associate Lighting Designer; CAMERON DAVIS, Projections Coordinator; ERIC MEADOWS, Sound Coordinator; ANDREA SCHURMAN, Stage Manager; A.J. LAFLAMME, Assistant Stage Manager; and ANDREA HARRINGTON (Sheridan College Field Placement student), Stage Management Assistant.
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