Podcast Summary: "Art" on Broadway with Bobby Cannavale

All Of It (WNYC), hosted by Alison Stewart
Original Air Date: November 28, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of "All Of It" delves into the new Broadway revival of Art by Yasmina Reza, a seminal comedy examining the complexity of male friendship through the lens of a controversial modern painting. Host Alison Stewart is joined by actor Bobby Cannavale, who stars as Mark, and director Scott Ellis. Together with co-stars Neil Patrick Harris (Serge) and James Corden (Yvan), their production explores timeless questions about taste, belonging, and the roles we play in long-term relationships.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

The Origins and Relevance of Art

• Personal Roots (01:55-03:32):
  • Bobby Cannavale shares curiosity about the real-life inspiration for the play: Yasmina Reza based Serge on a friend who bought a piece of art that baffled her.
  • Quote: “Every one of her things she's written has a character named Serge. So Serge was a pretty important person in her life... the inspiration for this story over 35 years ago.” — Bobby Cannavale [01:57]
• Authenticity and Modern Resonance (03:33-04:29):
  • Scott Ellis was struck by how current the play felt, needing only updates to monetary references.
  • Quote: “We changed actually nothing except... the price of the painting and how much she pays the housekeeper. That was literally it.” — Scott Ellis [03:51]

Technology and The Play’s Unique Setting

• Absence of Phones (02:33-03:32):
  • No characters use phones, a rarity today, which enhances the intensity and authenticity of their in-person arguments.
  • Quote: “They're actually having this discourse without checking their phones. I mean, that's really rare today.” — Bobby Cannavale [03:18]

The True Focus: Male Friendship

• Art as Catalyst, Not Subject (04:29-05:59):
  • The painting serves as a trigger for deeper conversations about long-standing friendship roles and emotional undercurrents.
  • Quote: “The artwork is really just a catalyst... when you have a long-term friendship, a 25-year friendship, what goes unsaid?... There's an alpha, there's a follower, there's Switzerland.” — Bobby Cannavale [04:29]
  • Quote: “Can a friendship survive when you have different opinions or different thoughts?... we tend to shut a door and we don't talk or discuss. And that's exactly what this play is about.” — Scott Ellis [05:41]

Character Exploration

• Who is Mark? (06:05-07:32):
  • Mark is a pragmatic, aesthetic, straight-talking “alpha” who resists changes in the friendship’s dynamic.
  • Quote: “He is somebody who is very comfortable leading with his opinion, no matter how reactive it may be... he fights for his role, to keep his role in this relationship.” — Bobby Cannavale [06:16]

Building Chemistry and Casting

• Casting Dynamics (07:39-08:51):
  • The actors’ off-stage camaraderie was strategically nurtured; genuine friendship was considered essential for believability.
    • Quote: “I don't think the play can work unless you really believe these three people like each other... What they're doing right now [hanging out around a table] is more important [than rehearsal].” — Scott Ellis [08:33]
• Performance Trust (08:51-09:45):
  • Cannavale emphasizes trust: “I'm never worried… They know how to live on stage… It's never the same show every night.” — Bobby Cannavale [09:09]

Subverting Audience Expectations

• Typecasting and Surprise (09:45-10:47):
  • Ellis “leans into the characters” rather than their public personas, letting the play’s content upend preconceived notions.

Crafting the Play’s Opening

• Setting the Tone (11:16-12:50):
  • The actors intentionally avoid “tipping” their opinions on the painting, allowing the audience to discover their relationships organically.
  • Quote: “We need to work as hard as we can… we want to get the feeling these guys have an easy rapport... Any opportunity that we can, we've got to find it.” — Bobby Cannavale [11:34]

Connecting to the Audience

• Slowing Down, Immersion (12:50-13:55):
  • Allowing room for the audience to acclimate and “forget they’re in a theater” is key.
  • Quote: “Taking care of your audience so that they can be taken into the world of the play... It's really important.” – Bobby Cannavale [13:30]

Artistic Taste as Social Identity

• Discourse and Deeper Meaning (14:09-15:42):
  • The disagreement about the painting masks the underlying fear of losing a friend to change.
  • Quote: “I think what he's saying is I don't like who you're becoming. It's not really about the painting. It's about, I'm losing you as a friend.” — Bobby Cannavale [14:39]

Production and Scenic Details

• Casting and Lighting (16:00-17:48):
  • Stage prowess was the top priority for casting. Lighting subtly shifts with each apartment scene, especially to highlight the infamous white painting.

Live Theater Realities

• Flubbed Lines and Audience Engagement (17:48-19:10):
  • Mistakes are part of the authenticity and “the audience is part of it.”
  • Quote: “It feels like an eternity on stage when that happens. Right. But it's only a couple seconds... the audience was delighted by that moment.” — Bobby Cannavale [18:07]

Stage Actors in Film

• The Rehearsal Factor (19:18-21:36):
  • Stage actors bring deeper rehearsal experience and adaptability to film.
  • Quote: “You don't just get to come up with the one way you want to get it right on film… that kind of versatility with stage actors is just different. And I think it's better, too.” — Bobby Cannavale [20:19]
  • Quote: “There's no way that anybody who does theater is not going to be a better actor when they leave to go back to film.” — Scott Ellis [21:27]

Balancing Humor and Substance

• Comic Timing (21:36-24:21):
  • The show’s humor is never played for pure laughs—stakes always remain present.
  • Quote: “We didn't approach it as a comedy. We really went in saying what's at stake here…” — Scott Ellis [21:52]
  • Quote: “James [Corden] is like a natural born comedian. That guy… I just cried laughing in rehearsal.” — Bobby Cannavale [22:49]
  • Performing before an audience revealed how funny the play could be; “the audience really does tell you a lot.” — Bobby Cannavale [24:08]

Notable Quotes

• On Argument and Disagreement:
  “Argument can be healthy, right? It used to be, at least...we can get back to having a constructive argument.”— Bobby Cannavale [04:23]

• On Casting:
  “You get one of those guys wrong, it just doesn’t work.”— Bobby Cannavale [08:54]

• On Friendship:
  “If the dynamic and the order of the way things are supposed to go in a friendship get thrown off, that is a really hard thing to recover from.”— Bobby Cannavale [14:59]

• On Live Theater:
  “The audience is... part of it and they're supportive. They want to be there, especially when they're on the ride, you know.”— Bobby Cannavale [18:06]

Key Timestamps

• 01:55 — Bobby on the play's real-life inspiration
• 03:33 — Scott discusses updating the script for modernity
• 04:29 — The theme of male friendship and unspoken roles
• 06:05 — Describing the character of Mark
• 08:33 — On the cast's chemistry and authenticity
• 11:16 — Opening choices: letting the audience “not know”
• 14:09 — On taste and friendship as sources of conflict
• 17:48 — Flubbed lines and live moments
• 19:18 — Stage actors’ impact on film and rehearsal habits
• 21:36 — Balancing comic timing with dramatic tension
• 22:49 — James Corden’s comedic energy

Memorable Moments

• Cannavale’s reflection on how rehearsing and performing Art changed his own perception of modern, monochromatic paintings:
  “I look at that painting every night...I really like to look at the monochromatic paintings. I've really gotten into the Yves Klein blue. I've gotten into the Rothkos... there’s something about the void of the painting I never considered and now I've come around on it.” [16:01]

• Scott describing the essential “animal” stage sense the cast brings:
  “They’re all three great stage actors. And that was the most important thing.” [16:47]

• Shared laughter over rehearsal room antics and James Corden’s unstoppable comedic energy [22:47-24:22].

Overall, this episode is a lively, insightful look at the enduring relevance of Yasmina Reza’s Art and the intricacies of bringing its big questions—and big personalities—to the Broadway stage.