‘The Rembrandt’ at Curtain Call connects love and art
N.Y. » Concord Theatricals, the publishing company that owns the rights to the play “The Rembrandt,” describes the work as being about, “the power of creative expression and sacrifices we make in the pursuit of love and beauty.”
After separate interviews with the two leading actors, the provocative description statement seems to be accurate.
Both John Noble and Rocky Bonsal are experienced actors who have been working local stages for decades. As each has grown older they limit themselves to one play a year. They both love this play and each says it was the material that drew them to return to the stage.
Noble was last seen in “Over the River and Through the Woods” early in 2022. Bonsal hasn’t performed since “The Legend of Georgia McBride” five years ago. Both plays were at Curtain Call Theatre in Latham where “The Rembrandt” opens tonight and plays through October 29 .
The actors play the two most important characters in the five-person play. Bonsal is Henry, an unassuming museum guard and former teacher who touches the Rembrandt painting “Aristotle Contemplating the Bust of Homer.” That act magically transports him back in time to 1693. Bonsal becomes Rembrandt working in his studio. Noble takes on the persona of Homer.
The play alternates reality and time. It covers the 4th century B.C., the early 7th century, the 14th century and starts and ends in the present time. The play ends with Noble transforming from Homer to the guard’s partner, Simon, a contemporary poet who is on his deathbed.
What was revealing in the interviews is the extent of research each actor has put into the role to get a deeper understanding of their famous characters. Noble said the first thing he did was do an in-depth study on Homer’s famous poem “The Iliad.”
Then he went on to refresh himself with the writings of the Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle. He feels Plato’s theories about time and reality are extremely relevant in this piece. He finds the essence of the play is in his line speaking as Homer saying “We barely understand ourselves or what’s inside others. Maybe art can help us.”
Bonsal said upon being cast he immediately bought an art book with all of Rembrandt’s paintings to study the body of the artist’s work. He then did research on Rembrandt’s personal life and was happy that the playwright, Jessica Dickey, created the same man he discovered. That is an impetuous, volatile and rather scattered individual.
Bonsal believes the play is about love is eternal and can never die. He feels “The Rembrandt” relates love with art that has endured over the history of man. He reasons, “If the act of creating art can connect humans over centuries can’t the beauty of love endure as long?”
Another thing the actors discovered about their characters through research is how their dedication to art can cause issues with personal relationships. An local average rehearsal is six weeks, and productions usually run for three weekends. That’s two and a half months, not counting research and learning lines.
Bonsal, who is a therapist specializing in stress and anxiety, says, “When he first met his husband 30 years ago they discussed the potential for problems. They agreed to “no more show-after-show acting”. He would only perform in one play a year, occasionally two. Bonsal says he honored his promise and even found it rewarding. “I have the luxury of only working in plays I deeply care about,” he says.
Noble admits when he was a younger man he was so addicted to acting he would often be in one play, while rehearsing another. He admits it was partly the cause of his divorce from his first wife.
When he remarried and moved from Amsterdam to Colonie, he took a break from the stage. After retirement from his position with the State of New York, he made a “comeback” in 2000, appearing in “Mass Appeal” at Curtain Call. He now works more casually and “only on plays that speak to me.”
Being a regional premiere “The Rembrandt” is an unknown quantity as a play. However, that it is a play that attracted two very selective and talented actors is a strong recommendation. It plays at Curtain Call Theatre in Latham tonight through Oct. 29. For tickets and schedule go to curtaincalltheatre.com