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(L-R) Jack Willis, Judd Hirsch and Cotter Smith in a scene from the Tony Award Winning Play ART. ART is presented by the Houston Broadway Series at The Jones Hall from May 30th - June 4th, 2000. Photo by Joan Marcus.

A R T
JUDD HIRSCH STARS IN
YASMINA REZA'S INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED COMEDY
JONES HALL
MAY 30 - JUNE 4, 2000

Yasmina Reza's Tony Award winning comedy ART, starring Judd Hirsch, Cotter Smith
and Jack Willis, will open at Jones Hall on May 30, 2000 presented by the Society for the
Performing Arts as part of the Houston Broadway Series. Winner of the 1998 Tony
Award for Best Play, directed by Matthew Warchus and translated by Christopher
Hampton, ART is a wickedly witty portrait of modern art and old fashioned friendship as
three prosperous middle aged, longtime friends come to blows over the value of a very
expensive piece of art.

ART opened to consistently favorable reviews at London's Wyndham's Theatre on
October 15, 1996. It received both the 1996-1997 Olivier and Evening Standard Awards
for Best Comedy. The Broadway production opened to critical acclaim at the Royale
Theatre on March 1, 1998. It won both the 1998 Tony and Drama Critics Circle Awards
for Best Play.

Essentially about the concepts of friendship and value, ART depicts the way in which the
two can cause conflict. When Serge (Cotter Smith) purchases a work of art that has cost
him dearly, an argument develops with his friend Marc (Judd Hirsch) who views the
painting as merely a white canvas. Another friend, Yvan (Jack Willis), attempts to calm
the dispute between the two but in trying to appease both, ignites the quarrel which forces
all three men to re-examine their friendship and the direction in which it is going.

Judd Hirsch, who starred in the Broadway and West End productions of ART, is
perhaps best known for his television series, "Dear John" and "Taxi." He began his stage
career in 1964 at the Woodstock Playhouse in Herb Gardner's A 7housaiid Clowns and
was subsequently honored, twice, with the Tony Award for Best Actor in Mr. Gardner's
I'm Not Rappaport and Conversations With My Father. He made his Broadway debut in
Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park and was nominated for a 1980 Tony Award for
Talley's Folly. He also appeared on Broadway in Neil Simon's Chapter Two and Jules
Feiffer's Knock, Knock for which we won a Drama Desk award. - He has appeared
extensively off Broadway and on television. His numerous film credits include King of
the Gypsies, Ordinary People (Oscar nomination), 7he Goodbye People, and
Independence Day.

On Broadway, Cotter Smith has appeared in An American Daughter, by Wendy
Wasserstein at Lincoln Center Theatre. Off-Broadway his credits include How I Learned
to Drive, The Dying Gaul, The Blood Knot and Death of a Miner. He portrayed Robert
Kennedy in the mini-series "Blood Feud" and was a regular on the ABC series "Equal
Justice." Cotter has been nominated four times by the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle
and has twice received their Outstanding Performance Award.

Jack Willis has performed on Broadway in Art and The Old Neighborhood by David
Mamet. His TV and film credits include "Law & Order," "Dallas," "All My Children,"
The Out of Towners, Problem Child, The Cradle Will Rock and The Talented Mr. Ripley
starring Matt Damon.

ART, already a celebrated hit in over 25 countries, continues its triumphant international
engagements.

Produced by Stuart Thompson, Carole Shorenstein Hays, Kelly Gonda and SFX
Theatrical Group, ART is designed by Mark Thompson, with lighting by Hugh Vanstone
and original music by Gary Yershon. The Broadway production of ART was produced
by David Pugh, Joan Cullman and Sean Connery.

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ART is presented by the Society for the Performing Arts as part of the Houston Broadway
Series. Tickets for the Houston engagement may be purchased at all Ticketmaster
locations. To charge-by-phone, call 713-629-3700; for groups of 20 or more, call
713-693-2692 or toll free at 1-800-889-8457. Prices range from $20.50 to $45.00
Show times are Tuesday - Saturday evenings at 8:00pm, Saturday and Sunday matinees
are at 2:00pm with the Sunday evening performance at 7:00pm. Please note: the 2:00
matinee on Saturday, June 3 will be captioned for the hearing impaired. The TDD #
for tickets is 1-800-755-6244.