'Art' About More Than Just A Painting

In the play, 'Art' the close friendships of three men are tested by one friend's purchase of a completely white piece of art. Perhaps a simple premise, but according to Diana Marbury, director of the play, which is currently being produced at the , there's a lot more to it than that.

“It's a very character-oriented play,” said Marbury.

The play, which is set to open at the Quogue Community Hall on Thursday, Jan. 13. “is really character driven and in the end it shows that friendship means more than aesthetics,” said Marbury.

The play stars two veterans of the Hampton Theatre Company—Andrew Botsford, who plays Marc and Tom Gustin, an actor who also recently worked with the Bay Street Theatre, as Serge, the friend who buys the white painting. A newcomer to the company is Dennis Keeley, who stars as Yvan.

The story centers around these three friends and opens with Serge showing his friends an extremely expensive white painting, which features a white canvas with a few white lines that he just bought and is extremely proud of. While Marc is scornful of the painting, Yvan finds himself caught in the middle and attempting to salvage all of the relationships.

Over the course of the play, the attacks between the friends become less about the painting and more about each other's perceived personal failures, threatening to ruin the friendships of all three.

Like Marbury, Botsford said that the play addresses more than just how three friends react when one does something the other two aren't sure they like.

“While the story of the play is ostensibly about a painting, it's about that and what passes for art,” he said. “Underneath that and more significant than that is their relationship. It asks the question, 'When do you pull your punches to protect your friendship and when are you honest?'”

Botsford said the premise allows the characters to question how they perceive themselves and how their personality is perceived by others.

“The guy who buys the painting wants to be taken seriously as an art collector and if I don't buy into that, than he's either got to reject me or accept that idea,” he said, noting that the same type of psychological question is presented to his character.

While Marbury acknowledged that doing a three-man play can be tricky, as it can limit the audience somewhat, she is hoping that the play will speak to people on several levels.

“It's a comedy, a very bright play and it has a lot of deep thinking involved in it,” she said. “Besides being a friendship story, it delves into some serious thought about art and friendship on some level, everybody's had relationships like that. Each person will find a different part of it that they'll relate to, like how do you care for your friends, and how do you let them know that you care about them?”

Marbury added that 'Art' is a play that she has been wanting to direct for a number of years.  Because her husband, who has passed away, was a sculptor, she said the idea of art being perceived by people in different ways appealed to her.

She said she's very excited about this production and the three actors are “very dedicated” and “very gifted.”

“They have a lot of camaraderie, which is nice because that's kind of what the play is about,” she said. “They're kind of like old friends which makes it work better.”

'Art' will be playing at the Hampton Theatre Company, located in the Quogue Community Hall on Jessup Avenue, on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 p.m.. Tickets are available at $10 for students under 21, $23 for seniors (except Saturdays), and $25 for adults.