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The art of friendship, sharply dissectedBy PETER SMITH© St. Petersburg Times published April 13, 2002 TAMPA -- Friends can be difficult, always thinking for themselves when, of course, we know best. Everyone sometimes thinks, "If you were just like me, you'd be fine." We all have friends like that. We all occasionally are friends like that. This is the message of Art, a startlingly involving play at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Shimberg Playhouse. What could be, in the hands of lesser actors, a yuppie gripefest is a play of stimulating questions and answers as three young men try to define what they are to each other. Mostly they are friends, even if they can't put a finger on why. Serge (Brian Shea) has bought a painting. It's white. Just white, with white diagonal lines. It also has a $40,000 price tag on it. His friend Marc (Ned Averill-Snell) thinks that is hilarious -- and sad. Trying to maintain peace between Serge and Marc is Ivan (Paul J. Potenza), who has enough troubles without those two going at it. Serge thinks Marc is overly cynical and trying to be antimodern. Marc thinks Serge has been hoodwinked by the modern art scam. Whichever you believe, you will accept the possibility that the other is correct in the course of the evening. Art, by Yasmina Reza (translated by Christopher Hampton), is fascinating. Perceptively funny, a terse 90 minutes, with theatrical tricks galore, Art will carry you along in its wake. The actors are equally matched. Shea plays a likable snob with a touch of irony. Averill-Snell is equally ironic in his tone at first, but he becomes heartfelt as the evening goes on. Potenza avoids irony, jumping into his character and inhabiting it. He is never less than a revelation. Wendy Leigh's direction moves Art like a house afire. Cough and you'll miss something important. Karla Hartley's lighting design focuses the audience's attention, virtually becoming another character. THEATER REVIEWArt continues through through April 28 at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Tampa. $15.50-$21.50. (813) 229-7827 or toll-free 1-800-955-1045; or www.tbpac.org.
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