Edward Gero and Patrick Andrews star in John Logan's Tony Award-winning Red

Edward Gero and Patrick Andrews star in Red at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, produced in association with Goodman Theatre. John Logan's Tony Award-winning play ran at Goodman Theatre September 17-October 30, 2011, including a weeklong extension due to popular demand. Now bringing his production to Arena Stage for its D.C. premiere is Tony Award winner and Goodman Theatre Artistic Director Robert Falls (Broadway's Death of a Salesman, Long Day's Journey into Night, Talk Radio). Red runs January 20-March 4, 2012 in the Kreeger Theater.

Red features four-time Helen Hayes Award winner and Washington, D.C.-based actor Edward Gero as abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko. Gero was last seen at Arena Stage in Theater J's production of The Chosen and is currently portraying Ebenezer Scrooge in Ford's Theatre's production of A Christmas Carol (through December 31). Noted Chicago actor Patrick Andrews, whose credits include Goodman Theatre's production of The Actor and Steppenwolf Theatre Company's production of American Buffalo, joins Gero as Ken, Rothko's fictional assistant.

"We are delighted that Arena Stage is partnering with Goodman Theatre, which is a major leader in Chicago's theater scene," says Arena Stage Artistic Director Molly Smith. "This is an opportunity for us to showcase Robert Falls' work in exploring the legacy of this deeply complex artist with esteemed D.C. actor Edward Gero."

"I am thrilled to continue the journey of John Logan's extraordinarily passionate and moving play Red at Arena Stage, where I am honored to direct for the first time," says Falls.

A visceral, "superbly taut" (Chicago Tribune) battle of wills, Red drops you squarely inside the world of painter Mark Rothko and sets your heart pounding. At the height of his career, Rothko struggles with a series of grand-scale paintings for New York's elite Four Seasons restaurant. When his new assistant challenges his artistic integrity, Rothko must confront his own demons or be crushed by the ever-changing art world he helped create.

To more deeply explore and celebrate the life and work of Mark Rothko, Arena Stage is partnering with the National Gallery of Art and The Phillips Collection. The National Gallery of Art, the largest public repository of Rothko's work, is presenting a special installation from their collection of three of Rothko's Seagram Murals, the commission he is depicted working on in the play, and The Phillips Collection is hosting several Red-inspired events. Gero also spent time in the Rothko Room at the Phillips with Curator at Large and author of The Essential Mark Rothko Klaus Ottmann in preparation for his role. Arena Stage will hold panel discussions with guest panelists including specialists from both organizations following the Sunday matinees during the run of the show to further explore specific facets of Rothko's life.