The Naples Players Present Red, by John Logan

NAPLES, Fla. - Jan. 14, 2015 - PRLog -- NAPLES, FL- The Naples Players (www.naplesplayers.org) will present Red February 4 – February 28 in the Tobye Studio at Sugden Community Theatre in downtown Naples.  Accomplished Florida Gulf Coast University theatre professor, Barry Cavin, will direct the production.

         Red, winner of the 2010 Tony award for Best Play, explores the compelling and vulnerable relationship between an artist and his creations as he fights for relevance in the art community.  Famed abstract expressionist, Mark Rothko has just received the biggest commission in the history of modern art; a series of murals to be hung in the newly built Four Seasons restaurant.  Rothko works feverishly with his eager, new assistant, Ken, continually challenging his young apprentice’s artistic point of view. It is when Ken challenges the master however, that makes Rothko contemplate his own artistic significance.

         Mark Vanagas will star as Mark Rothko and Peter Brian Kelly will play Ken. Vanagas brings a wealth of acting experience to The Naples Players stage. He was most recently seen playing multiple characters in The Mystery of Irma Vep and as Thenardier in Les Miserables. This is Kelly’s first show with The Players, having come from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater where he received a BFA in Theatre Performance and performed in numerous productions, including roles such as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, Cinderella's Prince inInto the Woods, and Bobby Gould in David Mamet's Speed-The-Plow.

         Performances for Red will be held Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m.  Tickets are $30 for adults and $10 for students 21 and under, and can be purchased at the box office, by calling 239-263-7990, or by visiting www.naplesplayers.org. Sugden Community Theatre is located at 701 5th Avenue South, Naples.

Photo Cutline: Abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko, played by Mark Vanagas (right), battles with his demons as he begins to create for the biggest commission in modern art history, while his assistant Ken, played by Peter Brian Kelly, looks on in The Naples Players production of Red February 4 – February 28 at Sugden Community Theatre, 701 5^th Avenue South, Naples.