For immediate release.
CAST IS SET FOR “RED” AT THE MARK TAPER FORUM
JONATHAN GROFF JOINS ALFRED MOLINA IN TONY AWARD-WINNING PLAY
Center Theatre Group has announced that “Spring Awakening” and “Glee” actor
Jonathan Groff will be featured opposite previously announced Alfred Molina in the Donmar
Warehouse production of the 2010 Tony Award-winning Best Play “Red” by John Logan at the
Mark Taper Forum, August 1 through September 9, 2012. The opening performance is scheduled
for August 12.
Directed by Michael Grandage, who won a Tony Award for his work on this “. . . intense
and exciting two-character bio-drama . . .” (Ben Brantley, The New York Times), “Red” is set in
the New York studio of artist Mark Rothko, who is known for paintings that seem to pulsate with
a life force of their own.
It’s the 1950s and Rothko is working on a commissioned series of paintings for the new
Four Seasons restaurant and his recently hired assistant is rapidly learning about the
uncompromising aesthetic of his new boss. Though Rothko feels the threatening presence of a
new generation of artists, he tells his assistant, “There is only one thing I fear in life, my friend . .
. One day the black will swallow the red.”
Brantley said, “. . . as much as any stage work I can think of, ‘Red’ captures the dynamic
relationship of an artist and his creations . . . In his strongest Broadway performance to date, the
dauntless Mr. Molina embraces the artist’s egotism unconditionally.. . .” John Lahr of The New
Yorker said “Red” is a “. . . scintillating discourse about Rothko and modern art . . . Molina is
withering and dangerous; his achievement is to suggest in Rothko’s obsession both the madness
and the grandeur of a great artist playing for keeps.”
Jonathan Groff originated the role of Melchior Gabor in the Tony Award-winning
musical “Spring Awakening,” for which he received a Tony nomination. He appears as Jesse St.
James in Fox’s hit musical comedy series “Glee.” He has recently appeared on CBS’s “The
Good Wife” and joined the cast of the critically-acclaimed Starz series “Boss.” Additional
theatre credits include “Hair” and “The Singing Forest” (co-starring Olympia Dukakis), both for
-more-
Cast is set for “Red” at the Taper --2
The Public Theater, and “Prayer for my Enemy” at Playwrights Horizons (Obie Award), directed
by Bartlett Sher. He made his West End debut at the Noel Coward Theatre in the revival of Ira
Levin’s “Deathtrap.” He also appeared in national tours of “The Sound of Music,” “Bat Boy:
The Musical” and “Honk!”
Alfred Molina was seen at the Taper in the 2005-2006 season as Lopakhin opposite
Annette Bening in “The Cherry Orchard.” In addition to “Red,” for which he was nominated for
a Tony Award, his Broadway credits include two other Tony Award-nominated performances in
“Art” (also at the Doolittle Theatre) and “Fiddler on the Roof” (Tevye). In London he appeared
in the premiere of “Red” at the Donmar, “The Night of the Iguana” and “Speed-the-Plow” (both
at the National Theatre), “Romeo and Juliet,” “Troilus and Cressida,” “King Lear” and “The
Taming of the Shrew” (Royal Shakespeare Company). His numerous film credits include “Letter
to Brezhnev,” “Chocolat,” “Frida,” “Boogie Nights,” “Enchanted April,” “As You Like It” for
Kenneth Branagh, “The Da Vinci Code” and “Spider-Man 2.”
In addition to the Tony Award for “Red,” John Logan was awarded the Drama Desk,
Outer Critics Circle and Drama League Awards for the play, which premiered at the Donmar
Warehouse in London in 2009 and was presented on Broadway in 2010. Logan is the author of
more than a dozen other plays, including “Never the Sinner” and “Hauptmann.” His work as a
screenwriter includes “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (Golden Globe
Award), “The Aviator” (Academy, Golden Globe and Writers Guild of America Award
nominations), “Gladiator” (Academy, Golden Globe and Writers Guild of America Award
nominations), “The Last Samurai,” “Any Given Sunday” and “RKO 281” (Writers Guild of
America Award, Emmy Award nomination).
Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the Donmar Warehouse is a non-profit
theatre located in the heart of London’s West End with a reputation as one of the U.K.’s leading
producing theatres. It has generated productions that have received 40 Olivier Awards, 23
Critics’ Circle Awards, 21 Evening Standard Awards, two South Bank Awards and 20 Tony
Awards from 10 Broadway productions. In 2011 “King Lear” transferred to BAM, New York,
and became the Donmar’s first production to be screened live in cinemas across the globe from
its Covent Garden home.
Tickets and information are available at CenterTheatreGroup.org, the CTG box office
located at the Ahmanson Theatre, or by calling (213) 628-2772. April 5, 2012 ###