Red

I have been absorbed in re-reading much of Ellen Gilchrist’s work in preperation for our interview this coming weekend. I spoke to her last week and she was telling me that a friend had suggested she read the play “Red” by John Logan and that she had read it repeatedly over the past few days. Of course, at her suggestion, I had it sent on, to try and get a feel for something that she found so important. It arrived this afternoon as I was going through “The Writing Life”. All I can say is, damn, this is an amazing piece of work. First I swallowed it whole, reading the play in one sitting. Then I drifted back to pick over the bits i needed to ponder further. There were so many, I essentially ended up re-reading the whole thing. Now I sit, writing this, and can’t quite find the quotes I need, so again with the reading…you get my point.
It focuses on Mark Rothko in 1958-1959 as he was working on a commission for the Seagrams Building in New York. The play has only two characters and five acts, yet spans a two year period which marked the closing days of the abstract expressionist movement and the rise of Pop art, and a new modern sensibility. Alfred Molina plays the role of Rothko in the New York production and the clips I have seen of that production are powerful indeed. I look forward to more discussions on the subject this weekend, something tells me I may have to find an excuse to join my wife and daughter for part of their upcoming trip to New York.