Now I'm glad I saw it in Cincinnati, with a Cincinnati audience. I've come to accept the fact that my home for the past 10 years is a conservative Midwestern town with a decidedly conservative attitude toward new and challenging art. Art and artists remain at the forefront of many longstanding debates in Cincinnati. It's why Mapplethorpe continues to be such a familiar name in this city. So a play like Art resonates here in ways that Broadway theater audiences would never understand.
Art is extremely entertaining.
In Cincinnati, beneath audience laughter, Art also tells an important message about tolerance. Every picture tells a story, and Art 's tale is very clever. The men turn to their mutual friend Yvan for support. But Yvan is unable to choose sides. He's not entirely sure what he thinks about Serge's expensive painting.