Vincent van Gogh is the most absurdly romanticized of artists. He is widely viewed as a mentally unstable genius who, in a feat of almost miraculous alchemy, channeled his intense emotional pain into intensely emotional paintings. The truth is he worked hard at his craft, was keenly aware of what his colleagues were doing, and wrote extensively about his concepts and techniques. "My madness never made a painting," he notes in Steven Dietz's dazzling, demanding drama. But the play centers on a present-day artist, Patrick Stone (Brian Monahan), who is unable to work due to emotional fallout from the sudden death of his mentor. He begins hallucinating that he is in van Gogh's studio in the south of France, where he finds the great painter surprisingly rational and lucid, eager to engage in debates about the meaning of art and the role of the artist.
Freely moving from past to present and from reality to fantasy, the play is almost Stoppardian in its density and complexity. Fortunately director Jon Kretzu is up to the challenge. He and his superb design team tell the multilayered story with admirable clarity while unfailingly conveying the emotional neediness that drives even the most bottled-up characters. The five-person cast, three of whom play dual roles, is remarkable. David Carey Foster is nicely understated as van Gogh; he allows us to feel the painter's deep sadness and perpetual frustration, as well as his unshakable commitment to his art. Monahan is suitably anguished as his contemporary counterpart, a man whose go-away vibes mask a jumble of terrifying emotions. Leo Cortez is particularly fine in two roles: He plays an unscrupulous art expert with a James Lipton–like air of superiority, and he brings a hilarious earthiness to his portrayal of van Gogh's friend and colleague Paul Gauguin. Dave Nofsinger's evocative scenic design manages to avoid all the van Gogh visual clichés, with the tongue-in-cheek exception of a single, huge sunflower.
"Inventing Van Gogh," presented by PCPA Theaterfest at the Marian Theatre, Allan Hancock College, Santa Maria. Wed. 2 p.m., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 2 & 8 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m., Jul. 2-16. Also at Solvang Festival Theatre, Solvang. 8:30 p.m. Wed.-Sun., Jul. 23-Aug. 7. $19.50-26.50. (805) 922-8313.