The TKTS board has been looking mighty full so I decided to treat myself to a bit of culture and got tickets to see Red. I went to the Brooklyn Kiosk and the line was longer than usual but I still walked away with my half price tickets (front mezzanine) in half and hour. To stay committed to the Art of the Bargain, we ate dinner at B Smith’s, the food is always good the service accommodating and they have a nice choice for the $30 Prix Fixe (add $15 for a flight of wine). Then on to the theater. Red is the Broadway treatment of a specific time in the life of painter Mark Rothko. Although I’m not a huge fan, I’d heard that Alfred Molina is compelling as the Rothko and brings to life the very controversial figure. The story is a two-person drama about the relationship between Rothko and his assistant. It takes place over a 2-year period that includes his highly paid commission to provide a series of murals at the Four Seasons Restaurant in Manhattan. The dialogue between the two men is believable and the adversarial discussions and the struggle in the unequal balance of power are well written. Both actors were great and I appreciated that the production was a tight 90 minutes.