For the remainder of the year, my San Jose and Peninsula theater reviews will be posted on Talkin’ Broadway with only introductions to those reviews on this site. Please continue to https://talkinbroadway.com/page/regional/sanjose/sj300.html for full review.

Farce, mystery, and social commentary – three traits that are seldom found together in one theatrical package.  Yet, Joe DiPietro’s The Art of Murder offers just that.  And the oft-produced play received validation from the Mystery Writers of America as the Edgar Award winner for Best Mystery Play in 2000.  Easy to produce, as it requires only four actors and a single, mostly generic set, it suits The Pear Theatre well.  Director Melissa Mei Jones integrates the artistic contributions with a high energy approach leading to an interesting result.

The triggering event is that noted artist, Jack, invites his New York City art dealer, Vincent, to dinner at his country home in Connecticut.  Jack’s motivation is to demand that Vincent sell Jack’s newest painting, “Study in Red #4,” for $1 million – though it has languished for four months at Vincent’s gallery.  Incidentally, the painting is yellow, and there were no studies 1, 2, or 3, but call it an artist’s eccentricity.  What’s more, don’t evaluate the title, as Jack’s mantra is “Never judge an artist,” which appears in conflict with reality, as an artist’s very success depends on the market’s judgment.  But then Jack doesn’t believe that life should be rational.

We also meet Jack’s wife, Annie, who is an artist as well.  She receives second-class treatment from Vincent, who misogynistically argues that only men are true artists, though we will learn that Annie’s ample skills have been largely hidden.

Also hidden at first are the agendas that each of the three main characters pursue.  Ambition, resentment, seemingly shifting alliances, and thoughts of murder emerge as the plot thickens.  Indeed, when the trio discusses how to increase the value of an artist’s work, death by any means works wonders, but murder or suicide are especially good career moves………..

The Art of Murder runs through October 19, 2025, at The Pear Theatre, 1110 La Avenida, Mountain View CA. For tickets and information please visit www.thepear.org.