I’m a theater lover, deeply drawn to the experience of live performance. There’s a sensual quality—the feel, smell, sights, and sounds—that shifts from one night to the next, adding layers of unpredictability. Film and television, by contrast, offer the same experience no matter where you watch them, be it your bedroom or a hotel in Tokyo. Theater has the power to transport you, offering a visceral experience that can never be replicated.
RED is the latest drama at Theater Exile in South Philly. The buzz around this play is nearing 15 years old. When it first arrived on Broadway it was all the rage. The story is centered on Mark Rothko as he takes on a new assistant to help him create commissioned murals for the then-new Four Seasons restaurant in the Mies van der Rohe-designed Seagram Building. Set in the late 1950s, RED offers a window into a pivotal moment in Rothko’s career.
Entering a theater feels like stepping into a sacred space for me, where anticipation mingles with a sense of reverence, much in line with how Rothko describes a chapel. But on this occasion, I was struck by an odd choice. As the audience filed in, we were greeted by what felt like “hold” music—a musical choice that didn’t match the serious mood the show promised. It felt like an awkward first step into what would otherwise be a well-curated experience.
The set followed previous productions, with a studio space revealing bare frames, blank canvases, and paint-splattered floors, hinting at the inner workings of an artist’s world. I was primed for this production. The lighting was well thought out, the props were in sync with the lights and sound, keeping you engaged in the world of their creation, and nothing felt out of place.
The play is cerebral from the start, evoking Nietzsche to position itself as high art and establish Rothko as a complex, contemplative figure. The dialogue often circles around self-reflection and the nature of art and the role of the artist within the art world. Rothko responds to critiques about his work being able to be reproduced by a kindergartner, and his assistant Ken’s reflection that his favorite painter is Jackson Pollock. In one memorable monologue, Rothko remarks on Pollock: “He was valiant in the face of tragedy. The tragedy was that he got famous.”
Scott Greer, in the role of Rothko, drew evident inspiration from Alfred Molina’s interpretation, resulting in a portrayal of Rothko as intense, immense, and often inaccessible, always working to educate and illuminate. His performance was well-matched by his physicality and mannerisms. Zach Valdez plays Ken, whose performance began somewhat restrained but gained depth by the third scene as his character gradually came to life. Given that two years pass over the course of the 90-minute play, I would have liked to see more dynamic growth in Ken’s character, especially in the earlier scenes.
The line “one day the black will swallow the red” captures Rothko’s core fear and internal struggle, with Ken acting as a reflective, challenging presence. The script felt like armor for the characters, keeping the audience at a distance from fully immersing in Rothko’s world. Yet there were moments—quick exchanges between Rothko and Ken—that drew me in, reminiscent of Aaron Sorkin’s snappy dialogue in The West Wing. The intellectual sparring was there, though at times I felt more of the thought than the actual process of putting paint to canvas. Despite the necessary compression of time, I missed the rawness of Rothko’s struggle in creating.
The single scene that truly connected me to the physical act of painting and also brings you furthest into the theater world is when Rothko and Ken begin preparing an enormous, 8-foot-square canvas with a bold red base. Each man takes half, layering brushstrokes in a choreographed rhythm, a rare and intimate moment that conveys the labor of love in Rothko’s process and the shared effort of the two characters to bring something to life.
In the end, this production of RED remained true to itself as theater, not a mere biopic. With a steady 90-minute runtime and no intermission, it held my attention without dragging. Professionally executed, it’s a show well worth seeing for anyone interested in exploring the mind of an artist at a crossroads. RED is on now at Theater Exile through November 10, 2024
