When Serge, a well-to-do divorced dermatologist, buys a minimalist all-white painting by an esteemed artist for the exorbitant market price of $300,000, it spurs a fierce disagreement, and then a raging battle, with his long-time friends Marc, an aeronautics engineer and aesthete, and Yvan, the joker of the group, who works in a stationery business owned by his fiancée’s family, in the Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza’s 1994 multi-award-winning comedy Art, translated from the French by Christopher Hampton, and now playing a limited engagement into December at the Music Box Theatre. Brilliantly directed by Scott Ellis and consummately performed by stage and screen stars Bobby Cannavale, James Corden, and Neil Patrick Harris, the laugh-out-loud three-hander takes a razor-sharp look at conflicting aesthetics, seething resentments, personal insecurities, and explosive egos that threaten to bring an end to the men’s 25-year bond.
The show moves back and forth between fully illuminated conversations and confrontations in the tastefully appointed monochromatic apartments of the three, distinguished only by the different paintings (Marc’s naturalistic landscape with an historic castle, seen through a trompe l’oeil window; Yvan’s colorful Neo-Pop dog portrait) hanging in the center of the back wall (telling stationary set design by David Rockwell), and revealing monologues by the individual characters, standing in the spotlight on the darkened downstage and directly addressing the audience (lighting by Jen Schriever), to explain their attitudes and feelings about each other and themselves, their expectations of one another, and the artwork(s) in question.
From Marc’s snarky deprecating laugh and honest, unrestrained reaction to Serge’s purchase (“It’s a piece of white shit”), to Serge’s offended response and simmering anger, to Yvan’s failing attempt to serve as peacemaker, compromising his own thoughts to see the points of both sides, each of the masterful comedic performances embodies the increasingly incompatible personalities, embraces their opposing opinions, and delivers the over-the-top sidesplitting hysterics through their heated voices, readily legible body language and facial expressions, speechless looks and extended moments of silence that speak louder than words. Their styles of clothing, though all in a similar toned-down palette (costumes by Linda Cho), further differentiate between them, their socio-economic status, and how they choose to present themselves.
It all comes to a head with Yvan’s arrival 45 minutes late for a men’s night out at the movies and his long-winded, rapid-fire, exasperated explanation of why, which leads to more previously suppressed insults about the women in his and Marc’s lives, Serge yelling “I AM NOT . . .,” then toning down his obviously false declaration, “I am not upset,” and an ultimate showdown between Marc and Serge over the white painting, unwittingly enabled by Yvan, who, at an earlier point in the fast-paced show (with interstitial blackouts and original music by Kid Harpoon), had been frantically searching on his hands and knees for the top to his felt-tip pen.
Will their developing situations, evolving tastes, and surfacing tempers bring an end to their decades-long friendship? Or will they recognize the true value of their intertwined past and be able to put their present antipathy aside, while wordlessly – and uproariously – sharing a bowl of olives?
The current production is the first Broadway revival of Art since its Tony-winning premiere in 1988 (though it’s been presented worldwide in more than 30 languages), and it’s well worth the wait. The writing, translation, and direction are spot-on hilarious and the pitch-perfect acting is a nonpareil masterclass in comic timing. Everything about it, and everyone in it, is deserving of awards this season, so if you need an evening of good laughs at the absurdities of human behavior (and who doesn’t?), don’t miss it!
Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes, without intermission.
Art plays through Sunday, December 21, 2025, at the Music Box Theatre, 239 W 45th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $114-621, including fees), go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix.
