Ready for RED at Heartland?

John Logan's play Red revolves around painter Mark Rothko, someone who'd found huge financial and critical success as an artist. As the play begins, Rothko has been commissioned to paint a series of murals for New York's posh Four Seasons restaurant.

But as successful as he is, Rothko still has fears. He worries that newcomers will overtake and eclipse him, and that his commercial success has made him a sell-out. But his big fear is that "one day the black will swallow the red." No matter the fame, no matter how many high-end diners eat their swell food under Rothko's murals, he wonders whether he will be remembered, and whether he will still be alive.

It's the fears and insecurities that make the Rothko of Logan's script so compelling. And the way the script unfolds, as we get to see Rothko through the lens of his assistant, a painter named Ken, there's plenty of tension, plenty of crackle, plenty of arguments about what it means to create. Red won the Tony Award for Best Play of 2010 as well as the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play.

As a two-man show, Red is a perfect choice for Heartland Theatre's intimate space. Director Christopher Connelly proved he knows his way around a visually stunning show with The Diviners in 2011, and he has a fine cast to work with this time, with Dean Brown, who was so good as the mathematician dad in Proof, as Rothko, and Rian Wilson, who broke hearts with his sensitive portrayal of the hydrophobic boy at the center of The Diviners, as assistant Ken.

Dean Brown and Rian Wilson appear in Heartland's Red

Heartland's production of Red begins with a pay-what-you-can preview performance at 7:30 pm on November 1. That will be followed by performances November 2-3, 8-10 and 15-17 at 7:30 pm and matinees on three Sundays, November 4, 11 and 18 at 2 pm.

The November 11 matinee will feature a special discussion afterwards with artists Harold Gregor and Ken Holder.

For more information, click here for show times and here for reservation information.