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Comment: “Art” Frame Love Hate on Broadway

James Corden, Neil Patrick Harris and Bobby Cannavale Artnow on Broadway. Photo by Matthew Murphy

Since the incitement of Yasmina Reza Art Valuation involving cultural objects, let’s start with the price point. Will buying a $471 band seat in the Broadway Revival make you a shrewd cultural vulture, or a schmuck center for celebrities? Make that “celebrity”. James Corden is legal and funny One man, two sins, But this is the bane of Tryhard and Balthazar 13 years ago. Neil Patrick Harris still has impeccable sitcom timing. Bobby Cannavale has paid for many years of stage dues, whether he is right or not. Is this actor worth half of it? Is it a play? Reza’s 1998 comedy is full of clever laughter and elegant structures, but it’s still a slight avenue comedy: three self-obsessed Frenchmen quarreled over an expensive painting.

If I depreciate Art To improve my insight, you can speculate that I blinded my snobbery. Then we can argue about the value of criticism. If the prospects spark your excitement, you may be the target audience Art. Like most of Reza’s output, it’s smart and stylish. The French Iranian writer has three well-received works on Broadway (one of which is called Spanish drama I wish I could forget). Just like her young fellow Florian Zeller (Father, mother) Reza’s work is inevitably French: Philosophy, exquisite, conceited. She wrote about middle and upper-class urbanites who were civilized with jealousy and sometimes violent aggression but under the sects. exist God of massacre (2009), she got along with each other, turning two married couples against each other, turning a living room into a battlefield.

By comparison, Art It’s a relaxing romp with a low stake. Serge (Harris) bought a minimalist white painting for $300,000. His culturally conservative friend, Mark (Cannavale), thinks he has lost his mind, or is a fool. The third wheel, named Corden, doesn’t care much about art. He wants to play the role of the peacemaker and take a break from his chaotic stepmother and fiancé. Serge and Marc in turn succumbed to Ivan. Ivan passively aggressively and whipped with pride. Marc never told Serge that he could have spent money on a valuable career – rebound and other reasons, because the drama is reluctant to reflect any reality, except for the gay puzzle created by Reza. Over the course of 90 minutes, the playwright uses artificial settings (I never believed Serge liked the painting) to emphasize the bond between these people.

From "Art" James Corden was shown bent down to check the back of the canvas, expression painfully, Neil Patrick Harris looked at a slight silly giggle from behind.From "Art" James Corden was shown bent down to check the back of the canvas, expression painfully, Neil Patrick Harris looked at a slight silly giggle from behind.
Neil Patrick Harris and James Corden. Photo by Matthew Murphy

It’s a worthwhile theme, especially today. Bromance is complicated. Not all the hugs and fists bump. Among male partners, there is always a shadow of fanaticism, competitors and bullies. Of course, the comedy premiered in the years leading up to the so-called Manosphere, when Andrew Tate was adding to his first pubic bones. It’s refreshing to see those classic, well-spoken people, perhaps trivial, but not toxic stereotypes. These characters arrive on Broadway through French and British filters (translated by Christopher Hampton), so they strangely combine feldspar chauvinism with British insecurity. Corden did a great job as a (unexplained) British friend, yelling cleverly through a Bravura Mid Show monologue about his upcoming wedding.

Scott Ellis staged in a customary polish and restraint style, with the blanks of the central canvas oozing into Linda Cho and David Rockwell’s clothing and furniture, respectively. These people wear stylish grey, black or blue solids. Modular kits representing their apartments are usually modern. It is known that too much color or landscape may upset the orderly chill of the Reza board, but more characters may be introduced later. It’s hard to know if it’s a drama or an actor, so I can’t connect with characters outside of smug irony. Corden evokes sympathy for the poor, charming Ivan, but he is later cut by a throw-out line from Serge: “Can we try to avoid grief?” This is directly in Henri Bergson’s comedy theory (human becomes machinery), in which a man ate olives in a muffled manner and then puts the pit into a metal bowl, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping.

Never seen it Art During the initial 18-month run, I didn’t remind me how much preparation I had for the material Seinfeld and Curb your passion. Drama and TV shows revolve around a conceited track, with repeated acupunctures and small discrepancies of Boogie’s friends, scattered in a yelling match. Both are comedy based on the bad manners of gag and triggering language: Serge is trapped in anger when anyone calls the painting “white.” I think back in Paris, Reza is more familiar with Georges Feydeau Seinfeld It will be broadcast in two months Art Open). I almost started to replace Selger with George, Mark, Jerry and others psychologically. The truth is, David and his collaborators created crazy solitonists, but I could spend hours enjoying them. Spend less money.

Art | 1 hour and 30 minutes. No intermission. |Music Box Theater | No. 239 West 45th Street | 212-239-6200 | Click here to get tickets

Bobby Cannavale stands alone on stage during Broadway production "Art," Monologues are provided in front of dark blue walls and tufted chairs.Bobby Cannavale stands alone on stage during Broadway production "Art," Monologues are provided in front of dark blue walls and tufted chairs.
Bobby Cannavale. Photo by Matthew Murphy

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