Arts & Entertainment

The art of the matter

‘Old Masters’ presents intriguing theatrical dilemma

Published

13 years ago

January 8, 2014

Conrad Feininger, left, as Sir Joseph Duveen and David Bryan Jackson as Bernard Berenson in Washington Stage Guild’s production of ‘The Old Masters.’ (Photo by C. Stanley Photography; courtesy WSG)

‘The Old Masters’

Through Jan. 26

Washington Stage Guild

Undercroft Theatre, 900 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.

$40-$50 (half price student discount)

866-811-4111

stageguild.org

Simon Gray’s thoroughly enjoyable drama “The Old Masters” is indeed about important art. It’s also about the art of the deal. But mostly it’s about the interdependent professional relationship (and sometimes friendship) between famed art historian Bernard Berenson and the equally famous art dealer Joseph Duveen.

Washington Stage Guild’s take on Gray’s 2004 work currently playing at the intimate Undercroft Theatre features a very capable cast in a production straightforwardly staged by Laura Giannarelli.

Set in the storied Villa I Tatti, Berenson’s residence near Florence, the action unfolds over one long evening in 1937. The scene is tense. A Lithuanian-born American, Berenson (BB to his friends) and his terminally ill wife Mary aren’t happy. Money is tight and war is looming. She is preoccupied with the financial wellbeing of her adult children and grandchildren from a previous marriage in England, and he misses the fat checks he once collected for authenticating Renaissance paintings. Yet a veneer of domestic civility prevails, thanks mainly to Nicky, Berenson’s longtime factotum and mistress (and now Mary’s caregiver).

On the fated night, Duveen drops in uninvited. He and BB have been on the outs, but Duveen softens the estrangement by paying an old debt to his host and proposing a lucrative business partnership. But first (and here’s the rub), Duveen wants a favor. He asks that BB pipe down on the authentication of a painting that he is selling to patrician American industrialist Andrew Mellon. BB says it’s a Titian. The world credits Masaccio. A great showdown ensues.

“The Master Works” is the last published play by British playwright Gray who died at 71 in 2008. Though not acquainted with his protagonists in life, he knows them well. Gray brilliantly conveys his aging characters’ urgency in terms of time and concern with legacy — both monetary and reputation. While an interest in art and a little background on the characters might prove helpful to audiences, it’s not necessary. This well-made play stands on its own.

Duveen is played with bigger-than-life gusto by Conrad Feininger. He envelops the smaller, less demonstrative BB (David Bryan Jackson) with roaring compliments and great hugs, bending his frenemy to his will with a tidal wave of bonhomie. It’s a wonderful performance.

And Jackson (wearing a neatly trimmed Van Dyke beard) gives a nuanced portrayal. His BB is a fastidious sensualist who falls into raptures when he sees “The Adoration of the Shepherds” (the painting in question). He’s a self-centered man who expects a lot of from his women (including his Swedish masseuse who visits daily) yet he cares for them deeply in his own way.

Jewel Robinson is compelling as Mary, BB’s wife who tolerates her husband’s weaknesses. Rounding out a very strong cast are Thomasin Savaiano as charming and efficient Nicky, and Steven Carpenter as Fowles, Duveen’s assistant derisively referred to as the “lift boy” by BB. (Fowles was once in fact the elevator operator in Duveen’s apartment building.)

Marianne Meadows gently lights set designer Carl F. Gudenius’ pretty Italian garden and later a well-appointed library. Sigrid Jóhannesdóttir’s costumes exude quality and taste except for those worn by Nicky, who’s a tad flashier than the others.

“The Old Masters” has great local resonance. “The Adoration of the Shepherds” hangs in Washington’s National Gallery, one of many Renaissance paintings collected Mellon, Samuel Kress (the five and dime millionaire), and others to be found in the building’s West Wing. While brush stroke technique and revered names like Titian are tossed about throughout much of the play, the audience sees only the backs of canvases. A visit to the Gallery might make a nice follow up.

Up Next

‘Drag Race’ live!

Don't Miss

Ready for Hillary group hosts Town event

FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM

Theater

Reggie White relishing first season as artistic director of Woolly Mammoth

First five shows a reminder that ‘pressure is a privilege’

Published

6 hours ago

August 2, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Reggie D. White (Photo by Ambe J. Williams)

Madly talented and preternaturally energetic, Reggie D. White, 38, is about to launch his first season as artistic director of D.C.’s boundary-pushing Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

White brings a lot to the job. As actor, playwright, and director, his varied resume includes a 2019 Broadway acting debut in Matthew López’s Tony Award–winning play “The Inheritance,” his semi-autobiographic play “Fremont Ave.” that opened to acclaim last season at Arena Stage, and a number of exciting regional directing credits.

A longtime admirer of Woolly, the out theater-maker was selected from a pool of candidates before receiving the offer last November and starting work in January. His season of five world premieres kicks off with gay playwright Steve Yockey’s “Venus” (Sept. 9-Oct. 4), a darkly funny study of modern relationships told through two lesbians looking back on their first encounter.

White was introduced to Woolly Mammoth as a pre-law student at Cal State Hayward in the San Francisco Bay Area, long before he foresaw a life in the arts. “As part of a random theater history course, I was assigned to write a paper on a counterculture company called Woolly Mammoth,” he recalls “Strange name. I was like what the hell is that?”

Nineteen-year-old White was intrigued. Research acquainted him with Howard Shalwitz who co-founded Woolly in 1980, and the company’s commitment to living playwrights and new work. He also learned how theater could be used as a tool for difficult conversations and shape the way people thought about social issues by employing imagination and rigor.

“Never in a million years did young me envision that one day I’d be Woolly’s third artistic director in its 46-year history,” says White. “It’s kind of serendipitously insane.”

WASHINGTON BLADE: Was there a moment when the enormity of the job hit you?

REGGIE D. WHITE: After I’d signed my contract and finished all the paperwork, I got my keys and sat in the theater by myself in the dark and thought about what an incredible honor it is to be trusted with what happens in this beautiful space [in D.C.’s Penn Quarter]. I might have cried. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember it’s real.

BLADE: Are you curating the upcoming 2026–2027 season?

WHITE: Yes, I am. It’s very rare that an incoming artistic director gets to program their first season, but I was lucky in terms of time. After being hired late last year, I asked Woolly’s managing director Kimberly E. Douglas, if she thought it would be crazy if I programmed the season. She warned me it would be hard.

I invoked tennis legend Billie Jean King’s maxim “pressure is a privilege” and got to work.

These plays [dubbed White’s “first five”] represent both the kind of theater that Woolly can do really well and speak directly to my voice as curator and how I want to contribute to the larger theatrical conversation in the DMV.

Getting here has meant a lot of late nights. But I knew the juice would be worth the squeeze.

BLADE: As a queer artistic director, what makes you unique?

WHITE: When I was playing in “Inheritance” on Broadway, after a performance, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayer came backstage to meet the cast. She spoke about how her lens on the world as a Puerto Rican woman shapes her decisions. Similarly, because I’m a queer Black man I see through a lens that shapes my work.

I know I’m not the only queer artistic director in town. For me, it influences how I make editorial decisions. Out of this season’s five plays there are explicitly queer characters in four [“Venus,” “Chanukkah Spectacular,” “Ten Grand,” and “Love I Awethu Further”] and I’m directing two [“Venus,” “Ten Grand”].

BLADE: Will we see familiar faces?

WHITE: Every show this season will feature a Woolly Mammoth company member in its cast. Our company also includes designers and directors who we’ll include. I’m invested in continuing to provide a showcase for their work.

BLADE: How do you think queer audiences will receive the season?

WHITE: Very well, I think. For queer people who’ve had to navigate the world subversively and solve problems in unique ways, I think it will be especially interesting. I find theater a potent place for questions.

Like all artistic directors. I’ll show up for the job in my own way. I’m just excited that I’ve been invited to bring the fullness of myself to the role.

Photos

PHOTOS: Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade

Annual LGBTQ celebration held in Dutch city during World Pride

Published

20 hours ago

August 1, 2026

Michael Key and Michael K. Lavers

A scene from the 2026 Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key are on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10.

AMSTERDAM — The 2026 Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade was held on Saturday, Aug. 1.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Michael K. Lavers)

View on Threads

Photos

PHOTOS: Lambda Legal in the Pines

Fundraiser held at ‘Normal Heart’ house

Published

2 days ago

July 31, 2026

Guest photographer

A scene from the 'Lambda Legal in the Pines' fundraiser on July 25. (Photo by Santiago Felipe)

The LGBTQ organization Lambda Legal held its annual “Lambda Legal in the Pines” fundraiser on Saturday, July 25. The event was held at a house on Fire Island featured in Ryan Murphy’s 2014 HBO film, “The Normal Heart.”

Organizers say over $500,000 was raised to support Lambda Legal’s national litigation and advocacy work.

(Photos by Santiago Felipe)