The story centers around the self-absorbed acclaimed artist Mark Rothko and the miserable treatment, yet educational role he bestows upon his assistant. In their intense interactions, you can't help but feel Rothko or even one of the audience members may come away with a heart attack. Zeisler's portrayal of the know-it-all, hard-ass guy that you never want to work for, actually sends shivers down your spine. Afterall, who wants to learn from a guy that states, “I am not your rabbi, I am not your father, I am not your shrink, I am not your friend, I am not your teacher-I am your employer. You understand?”
Yet, through it all, while unnerving, the two end up actually mentoring each other, but not before the apprentice reaches his boiling point. However, this is not the famed student-teacher relationship like that of the film Good Will Hunting nor even a brush of a student looking for the hard-earned respect of his mentor like in the movie Finding Forrester. No, this in-your-face play resembles something of the stormy relationship of the sleeper film Swimming with Sharks. It's only at the end that Rothko learns whether his fear that “the black will swallow the red” is realized.
The 90-minute play will continue to run until February 26th.
