Lewiston Council on the Arts spotlighting van Gogh in one-man play, bistro events

The Lewiston Council on the Arts will present “Vincent,” a one-act play that explores the life and art of Vincent van Gogh – and pair that with a Christina Custode-led bistro performance – on Feb. 20 and 22.

“The play is drawn from the hundreds of letters exchanged between Vincent and his brother, Theo,” said LCA Executive Director Maria Fortuna Dean. “A single actor portrays both characters, accompanied by a changing visual display of van Gogh’s artwork that reflects each scene.”

Following each one-hour performance, audiences are invited to stay for a special musical presentation by Christina Custode and the Bistro Quartet. This performance features familiar French songs made popular in the 1940s – such as “Beyond the Sea” and “La Vie en Rose” – served alongside coffee, tea and desserts.

"We wanted to extend the experience for our audience, offering time to linger, reflect and connect – to talk about the play, the music, and to simply gather and share in this unique and memorable evening,” Dean said.

‘Vincent’

Linda Silvestri is directing “Vincent.” She first saw the Leonard Nimoy-helmed show more than 20 years ago at the Gypsy Theatre in Fort Erie, Canada.

In the show, “Vincent has just died. … They say he killed himself – and he did, in fact, pull the trigger. But there's debate on whether he did on purpose,” Silvestri said. “But, according to the letters, the discussion about the letters, he probably did,” Silvestri said. “He spent the last, I think, year or so of his life in a mental institution. But, while he was there, he went out every day and painted. He had an incredible amount of paintings that he made in his lifespan, but especially the last near the end. But he was never confident about his work.

“And here's an interesting fact that, in his life, only one of his paintings was sold. It was after he died that he became well known and popular. And by the way, his brother died not long after him. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but they were both in their 30s.”

Dean noted, "Theo kept every letter his brother sent him. This is a moving, first-person account of the life of an artist whose work has entered our collective consciousness; paintings such as ‘The Starry Night’ and his ‘Sunflowers’ series are instantly recognizable and deeply beloved. This is a chance to almost go back in time and meet van Gogh and the brother who was his artistic champion and constant emotional support, even in the darkest times."

Actor Phillip Weld is portraying both Theo and Vincent.

“He's great,” Silvestri said. “He's playing Theo coming to talk to people after his brother's funeral. But in the course of talking to the people, he reads some of the letters; and then he sometimes turns into Vincent; and sometimes back to Theo. So, it's a one-man show, and he's playing, really, two characters – and at the same time.”

Weld, Silvestri said, is “very versatile and digs deep into the character; and that's why I chose him. I've known him for 20-something years, because I'm also affiliated with Western Door Playhouse, and he did some shows with us early on. …

“I reconnected with him about eight years ago. We did ‘Dial M for Murder.’ … I just always find him wonderful to work with, because, as I said, he doesn't just go through the motions. He digs into the character. He really tries to make that character interesting, so the public will be interested.”

Weld explained, “I probably had an extremely generalized knowledge of Vincent van Gogh – just, I think, like many people may. So, for me, learning the story and reading the characters, that was very educational, finding out the ins and the outs of his life and his death. And I think for me, it's really about telling that story – and in essence that's what I'm doing here. I'm telling the story, and I want to convey that knowledge that I learned to whoever comes to see the show.”

As for flying solo on stage, Weld said, “I think, for any actor, the epitome of what you're trying to do would be a one-man show, or maybe even trying to tackle something like Shakespeare. So, for me, it was really just that appeal of doing a one-man show. I kind of trusted Linda when she made the suggestion of the show. That was really my interest – just the challenge of it.”

Of course, there will be no split-screens, computer-generated images or splicing at the shows, so, “Practically, I make slight adjustments to my voice, the way I speak and the way I stand. I try to differentiate the two characters between those simple things,” Weld said.

“But I will say one thing about this play is it's very well written in the sense that Vincent's brother, Theo, is reading at certain times of the play, letters from his brother, Vincent. So, there's kind of a hazy line there. When we're performing, are you looking at Theo dictating his brother's writing, or are you looking at the actor becoming the character? We are doing our best to kind of walk that line back and forth, and the audience can kind of pull it in how they feel. There are definite times where I am Vincent for stretches, for continuity, and then there are times when I'm just Theo dictating from Vincent's letters. So, you can kind of easily bounce in and out of those naturally – like you would in a story if you were dictating back what somebody said to you as them.”

Christina Custode will lead a bistro performance as part of the Lewiston Council on the Arts production of “Vincent.” (Photo courtesy of Christina Custode)

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Christina Custode and the Bistro Quartet

Named “Buffalo’s Best Female Vocalist,” the award-winning Custode is a versatile singer, pianist and music teacher. She will take center stage once “Vincent” wraps, with accompaniment from Mike Moser (guitar), Ed Croft (bass) and Lew Custode (cornet).

“The performance space is going to become a little bit more interactive, and I think that's what makes it really kind of special,” she said. “Because, usually when you go to see a play or a musical or something, there's that third wall. The cool thing about this, for me, is I get to bridge that third wall at the end of the show – it becomes more of an interactive bistro sort of a setting where people can be transported back to a place in time where Vincent van Gogh's art is hanging on the wall, and there's coffee, and there's just this sort of interactive, more-immersive experience than your traditional theatrical performance.”

She added, “I feel like I'm always up for a challenge and something new and different. So, when I think of bistro music, it's very different from what I would usually play. I'm going to be singing a lot in French, which is something I don't get to do very often, and I'm really excited for that. That's going to obviously stretch my musicianship and my linguistic skills and to open up and create something that's completely different from what you would expect.”

Show times & tickets

“Vincent” will be presented at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 20, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, at Messiah Lutheran Church, 915 Oneida St., Lewiston.

Tickets, priced at $25 plus processing fees, are available online at Eventbrite.com (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vincent-tickets-1980342594008?aff=oddtdtcreator).

For more information, contact Susanne at artstaff2@artcouncil.org.