Art

Serge’s life has become a blank canvas. Well, not exactly blank. More like a white canvas. However, as Serge (Jonathan Rhys Williams) tells his bemused friends when unveiling his new, very expensive art masterpiece, if you look really close, you can see white stripes on top of the white background.It’s an emperor’s-new-clothes moment in the hit comedy Art. Serge’s two best friends react to the white-on-white canvas in their own personality-challenged ways. The resident cynical snob Marc (Loren Taylor) responds with loud guffaws, while the neurotic nebbish Yvan (Miles Miniaci) merely shrugs in uncomfortable silence. Before long, this three-man circus is exploring not only the world of art, but also the art of friendship.

Yasmina Reza’s Art is the rare comedy that examines the interplay between three male friends, inner dialogue and all. It’s also a perfect vehicle for a small cast in an intimate setting like the Delta King Theatre, where it plays for the next six weeks.

Although the play originally was set in Paris, director Stephanie Gularte gives this production a New York sensibility. An über-modern red-and-chrome set and cool jazz interludes complement Seinfeld-esque line deliveries and nonstop sharp repartees. It’s a short piece, at 90 minutes, but anything longer would feel forced.

Cast as the three fighting friends are the formidable talents of Williams, Taylor and Miniaci, who synchronize lines and deliveries like a well-oiled comedy machine. Miniaci lays on the Woody Allen-isms too thick in the beginning, but he eventually eases into his own comical, bumbling character. Taylor is priceless in his sneering snobbery, and Williams is a bundle of funny, nervous neediness.