One of the great things about live theatre is there are so many aspects to it to entertain and delight. Some times the script itself and the powerful dialogue is enough to engage an audience in nothing but a black box empty space. Other times it’s the performances, some times visual spectacle or music wows the audience. I love all of it of course but must admit I am a sucker for immersive experiences and the more intimate the better. This is why I jumped at the chance to see the play Red this last weekend at an art class room in Westminster College put on as a collaboration between Lil Poppet Productions and Sackerson Theatre Co. The play itself is a fairly generic portrait of a tortured artist but the experience is one I won’t soon forget.

This is not the first time Lil Poppet has put on an immersive play like this at Westminster College. Back in 2024 their production of Misery was literally “life changing.” To quote my review: “I can’t think of a time when I have been more connected to a performance in my life as a theatregoer.” While Red wasn’t as mind-blowing an experience it still is a really cool experience I’m glad I had. They even have the same director as Misery with Morag Shepherd and the same lead actor Tyson Baker.

In a way Red is even more immersive than Misery because that play isn’t about art or artistry so its setting in a ceramics classroom didn’t add anything to the story aside from its closeness to the audience. With Red, however, being in an artistic space grounds the story and helps make it easy to be engrossed in the world of fine art and painting. After all, it’s about the artist Mark Rothko and his famous painting Red and we actually get to see the actors painting a canvas red much like Rothko might have done.

The co-lead in the project is Amona Faatau who plays Rothko’s assistant Ken, and he is able to keep up with the intensity of Baker’s performance. He also has more of the emotional scenes and sells those moments well. Rothko’s demons seem mostly self-inflicted where Ken’s definitely are not which provides contrast between the 2 men and makes us root for his character to find peace.

I guess I just wish the playwright had found more interesting wells to dive into with Rothko than the frustrated genius who treats others like garbage. Frankly at this point it would be more refreshing and interesting to see a tortured genius in a play/film that is cuddly and nice to everyone. I realize one can’t change who people actually are and it seems Rothko was a diva it’s just not that insightful any more.

The most effective moments are when Ken calls Rothko out on his BS towards the end of the play. I would have loved to have seen that go even further. That his blocks of color are try-hard attempts to push back on surrealism and cubism. No matter how big a fuss you make as a tortured artist it doesn’t make the pieces any more enlightening or inspiring.

Anyway, knowing that Rothko did commit suicide it makes certain moments more chilling and poignant and Baker is incredibly effective at selling those scenes. Plus, it simply adds something to have the tortured genius right in my face staring at me as he rants and raves. That’s the artistry I find more compelling than Rothko and his pretentious blocks of color…

Unfortunately I went to the closing night of Red but they have a new production of Annapurna coming up, which I will be reviewing. I’m also very excited to see True West there in June. Definitely make sure you have Lil Poppet on your radar as you will always have a memorable night of theatre whenever you see one of their shows. More information can be found here.

Red is a play by John Logan based on the life of the artist Mark Rothko. The original production premiered in London in 2009 and then on Broadway in 2010. Evidently there is a proshot of the London production which I will have to check out some time.

If you enjoy my writing and would like me to review your production I’d love to. I also have a patreon which is a great way to support my shorter logs for shows I don’t get to review. I have some really fun perks. Please take a look here.