Stage Review - Red (Burien Actors Theatre)

Stage Review - Red
Presented By: Burien Actors Theatre (BAT) - Burien, WA
Show Run: April 12 - May 05, 2024
Date Reviewed: Sunday, April 14, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

I’m going to start this review by throwing a big old caveat on it, an asterisk if you will. This past Sunday, sometime after about 20 minutes or so of the play Red, presented by Burien Actors Theatre and on stage at the Kennedy Catholic High School Theatre through May 5, the power went out. Yes, the theatre, the school, and in fact the whole local area in Burien lost power. It should go without saying that if the group putting on this show decided to move forward with it, well then there would be no lighting, no sound, and nothing with which I can gauge the quality of either outside of that first 20 minutes or so. That’s the downside. The upside, because Artistic Director Eric Dickman, Stage Director for Red Beau Prichard, the cast, and indeed the audience all agreed that “the show must go on”, is that I, along with everyone in attendance got to see Red in a unique way, in sort of a behind the scenes fashion. Knowing how long these groups take to build and present a complete show, I’m hopeful that it’s not a regular thing, but for my part, I got to see Beau Prichard direct the show in real time, making adjustments to blocking and using the placements of flashlights to add a bit of mystery to a very emotional show. I don’t know what it looks like with Jacob Viramontes’ lighting design enabled for the entirety of the show, though I will say for the time I did see it, I liked the darker tones, almost Sweeney-esque in its palette, and the use of dimmer switches on the wall that either directly controlled the brightness on stage, or were in sync enough with the lighting booth to appear that way. The same can be said for Scott C. Brown’s sound design. From the little bit I saw of the show, seeing how the phonograph and albums played a role in the mood of each scene, it’s clear how that would have carried through nicely, though having Beau tell the audience what was playing once there was no power helped give a little bit of insight. Another upside to there not being any power was apparent in some of the more emotional monologues, the effect being a sort of Blair Witch Project feel, the actors lit from below. I’d love to see Red in all its glory, but I’ll say that this performance stands on its own even without power.

Much of why this worked under the circumstances has to do with the acting of course. When all the creative pieces go away, it’s really just left to the actors to deliver, though Beau’s work in blocking real time definitely helps. The actors that manage this so well are Scott C. Brown and Seamus C. Smith. Scott plays Russian artist Mark Rothko and Seamus his assistant Ken. While Rothko is the central figure in this play, it’s really only semi-autobiographical. Instead of the facts remaining the same and the names being changed, it’s the opposite, Rothko is real, his attitudes are real, but what happens in the play is more used to make the point of the story, rather than to tell it. And what this story is really about is stagnation vs. change, about the acceptance of change and of getting older, and also about ego, and what comprises that. Rothko is downright proud to have been of the generation of artists who snuffed out the Picassos and the van Goghs, but he’s aghast at having the same done to him by the likes of Andy Warhol and the Pop Art movement. The plot of Red follows Rothko through his commissioned work to paint murals for the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York, a task with which he’s very conflicted. That brings up the other aspect of this show, Rothko’s attitudes about art, who should create it, who should enjoy it, and what it’s all about. It’s quite the introspective show, especially when class, elitism, and entitlement are discussed. Rothko is all about motion in art, he claims that art requires the active participation of the viewer, and he surely has his opinions around who the viewers of his art should be. It’s an emotional role, it’s an opinionated role, and it’s excellently performed by Scott. His presence on stage is real, and while he’s mostly “educating” his assistant Ken, the audience most certainly feels like its being educated as well. Scott handles this with a strong voice and even stronger projection. He’s a commanding presence on stage and very good in this role.

The play is also about relationships, and this part is told through the one that Rothko shares with his assistant Ken. It’s a relationship that seems awfully one sided at first, it feels like Rothko is baiting Ken with his opinions , to try and squeeze something out of his assistant, who is, as Rothko makes clear from the start, “just an employee”. As their relationship matures, Seamus’ Ken begins to counter his “employer”, and even starts to challenge him. It’s at this point when the transformative aspect of this role is apparent. Seamus seems to mature his character in the slightest of ways, but constantly, and when Ken asks Rothko if he “ever get(s) tired of telling people what art is”, it’s finally what the artist was looking for, although his initial reaction might say otherwise. Seamus is really good in all aspects of this transformation. His Ken becomes so much more than “just an employee” and there’s a point in the show when it seems Seamus might just upstage Scott, but he doesn’t, and he’s not supposed to. That’s how well Seamus walks that balance.

Red is a play that exposes some of the darker sides of our humanity, our hypocrisy when we become what we fear the most or our reluctance to think our relevance might be a temporary thing. It’s a study in what it is to be human, a well written philosophical piece that is also a love letter to art. It’s not exactly a light play, and it’ll surely make you think, but this production is so engaging and well performed, you’ll be happy to have been a part of it.

Red, presented by Burien Actors Theare, runs on stage at the Kennedy Catholic High School in Burien through May 5. For more information about Red, BAT, or for show tickets, visit https://www.battheatre.org/.

Photo credit: Michael Brunk