Review: Art by 5 x 4 Production Company
by Michael Meigs
The French, oh, the French -- I squirmed often while watching 5 x 2 Productions' staging of Yasmina Reza's Art, because she captures with deadly accuracy the most galling aspects of the Gallic character.
You may well laugh at the absurdities of the premise and the reactions of the characters. Serge, a dermatologist, is proud of the painting by a fashionable artist that he has just purchased for "two hundred thousand" -- those are 1995 French francs, so roughly $40,000, not quite as much as you might initially think, but even so a high pricetag on a canvas covered with white paint.
Serge (Kyle Odom) smirks and adores the concept, the fashionable artist, and his own daring in laying out that much for art. His long-time friend Marc (Billy Dragoo) is appalled. Marc can't resist an oh-so-French campaign of intellectual attack, initially against the art piece and then inexorably against the aesthetic it represents and before too long against Serge himself. That would be a fruitless joust if Reza had left it there, but she has the good sense to introduce a third friend in this tight little circle -- Yvan, no intellectual at all, a big puppy of a man full of self-doubt and open emotion.
Intellectual arrogance and defensive verbal aggression are fundamental to the French national character, as least as we American barbarians perceive it. Any evening on French television in prime time you can listen to perfectly verbal, fully opinionated French intellectuals politely tearing one another to shreds. They have none of the elephantine, ridiculous grace of American television buffoons. Voices of certitude, they are striving like fencers to dominate and skewer.
Reza pushes that intellectual arrogance to the limit. We learn very little about Serge or Marc, even though we hear that they've been friends for 15 years or more. Nor is it clear how Yvan came into the circle of acquaintance. Artgives us the moment of breakdown of the friendship of Serge and Marc, leavening it with Yvan's consternation and confusion. Call it a French version of The Three Stooges, where Moe and Larry are constantly at one another and Curly can only blubber.
Art is lovely to look at. The great white canvas, 4' x 5', is periodically on display and draws us with its blank challenge. The theme of art and intellect is tastefully reflected in Derek Kolluri's abstract set in the three-quarter round of the Preas Theatre. Stark modern furniture from Scott + Cooner, all in white leather and curves, reinforces the art theme.
Director Jenny Lavery effaces herself, engineering grace and apparent spontanaiety for the action. This must have been a labor of love and a great satisfaction. Lavery is an accomplished theatre artist herself, and in this ad hocproduction company she's working with folks closely associated with Capital T Theatre.
Initially, mild Texan accents echo strangely in this pretend France. The dermatologist is consistently addressed as "Surge" (as in a swelling tide) rather than "Serge." Billy Dragoo sometimes resorts to a deprecating little nasal snort drawn from the intentionally exaggerated phonetics of Maurice Chevalier or Disney's Lumière the candlestick ("hawh, hawh, Hawh!"). The dynamics of eroding friendship overcome those distractions -- the two friends lose friendliness and methodically forfeit mutual respect. Odom and Dragoo invest themselves deeply in these characters.
Joe Reynolds' portrayal of the overwhelmed Yvan is the surge of emotion that keeps the action on a human scale. Reynolds has a huge solo when Yvan appears late to an appointed evening, distraught from the impossibilities of dealing with family about wedding plans, and he completely blows away the nastiness between Serge and Marc. That scene is delicious, and the script and actor keep serving up those tasty bits of emotional anti-matter through the end of the piece.
Reza brings the contest between the alienated friends to a surprise confrontation in a moment of challenge and destruction. It's crisis and catharsis. Serge and Marc come to terms, but ever so tentatively, and on a trial basis, like a married couple forced to face the possible devastation of divorce. Mark Pickell's astute lighting design brings us into the characters' interior monologues, where Reza plays at times with the conventions between audience and players. One-ups-manship can't be entirely stamped out; but unexpected insight on an unexpected emotional level is present, as well.
Art, a fund-raiser to support theatre scholarship for graduating Austin High School students, plays again Thursday through Saturday at the Preas Theatre, Austin High School 1715 W. Cesar Chavez (click for map).
Click to view program for Art by Yasmina Reza, 5 x 2 Productions
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Art (Reza)
by Yasmina Reza
5 x 4 Production Company
