Originally published February 2012. A shadow was cast on Seattle Rep’s 49th season when its father-protector, Bagley Wright, died of a heart attack on July 18, 2011, at the age of 87. Flags flew at half-staff across Seattle in honor of the game-changing arts patron and philanthropist, whose influence radiates from the top of the Space Needle (which he cofunded) to the depths of the modern art collection at Seattle Art Museum (which he and his wife Virginia supplied). And over at the House that Bagley Built, Seattle Rep has dedicated its current season to his memory.

But an even more fitting—if unintentional—tribute is the upcoming production of John Logan’s Red, a Tony-winning drama about abstract impressionist Mark Rothko and his young protege, Ken, in the midst of Rothko’s 1958 mural commission for the Four Seasons’ new restaurant. “I hope to paint something that will ruin the appetite of every son of a bitch who ever eats in that room,” Rothko famously said. He was both brilliant and irascible—words oft used to describe a certain Mr. Wright—and a man whose rage was the same shade of vermillion as his canvases. Rothko’s bold block paintings made people question their definition of art, and that extended debate plays out between mentor and mentee on stage.

Theater and art collide in the Bagley Wright Theatre, where Denis Arndt will star as Rothko, and rising Seattle actor Connor Toms makes his Seattle Rep main-stage debut as Ken. Though it’s exciting to see Arndt back on a local stage—stints on primetime TV have kept him busy lately—it’s Cornish alum Toms we’re keeping an eye on. Rep artistic director Jerry Manning handpicked Toms to play Ken after seeing him as Homer Wells in the grueling seven-hour stage adaptation of The Cider House Rules. Toms is both the fictional representation of the next generation of artists, and the future of Seattle theater itself. “It’s almost like when Monet took on Manet—[Manet] almost becomes the master,” Toms said of the relationship in Red. “At the end of the day, you have to shine on your own.”

Red
Feb 24–Mar 18, Seattle Repertory Theatre

For more top theater picks this season, read our Spring Arts Preview.