This is the subject of Yasmina Reza's 'Art.' which threw down the Tony gauntlet last March [1997] when it opened on Broadway with Alan Alda, Victor Garber and Alfred Molina as the three friends in turmoil. Christopher Hampton (Les Liaisons Dangereuses) is responsible for the play's English language translation.

Was Yasmina Reza nervous about the Broadway debut? "The play's worked in Moscow, Tel Aviv. If it doesn't work in New York, that's life." Quite an understatement when you consider the play's already had over one hundred productions in more than 15 languages around the world, the most recent one being its ongoing run in London. There the play won the 1996 Olivier and Evening Standard Awards for best comedy and has been playing to sold-out houses ever since.

Originally written in French, "Art" premiered in Berlin before moving to Paris where it ran for eighteen months and won two Moliere Awards (the French Tonys). It was in Paris that Sean Connery's wife saw the play and proposed that he help produce it in London. Enlisting Christopher Hampton to write the English translation, and real-life friends Albert Finney and Tom Courtenay to star, Connery created a West End phenomenon. And the Broadway run seems no less destined to pulling in the stars: Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, adn Kevin Spacey have all expressed interest in the movie roles.

It is no surprise that "Art" continues to succeed no matter where it is produced. The play is charming and highly intelligent, with big ideas and deeply provocative things to say about friendship. This is also the kind of play people have been dying to see return to Broadway: something serious, but one that flatters the head, heart and funny bone all at once. "A salt-and-sugar treat," is how the Time of London described it. Newsweek puts it this way: "A marriage of Moliere and Woody Allen...a nonstop cross-fire of crackling language, serious issues of life and art expressed in outbursts that sound like Don Rickles with a degree from the Sorbonne." And Vincent Canby of the New York Times has commented that even the play's sporty length adds to its magic: "Did I say that 'Art,' which runs 90 minutes and is played without an intermission, is not only the shortest new play on Broadway, but also the funniest. It moves like the wind and leaves you exhilarated. It's theater, pure and elegant." Heck, even John Simon likes it.

Reza has commented that she originally thought she was writing a tragedy, but then wondered at the reception the play received as a comedy. Even more surprising to her were the arguments the play inspired mid-performance, with audience members raging in the aisles about cutting edge art. How appropriate, then, that the title of the play comes with its own set of question marks. They not only highlight the subjective nature of the piece, but tell us something about it that we've already figured out: "Art" has people talking.