O Starry Starry Night

Two masterful artists¿Gauguin and van Gogh¿come alive in a vibrant drama about friendship, art, and madness

Two painters¿Paul Gauguin and Vincent van Gogh¿are living together in the sleepy town of Arles in 1888. Soon, Gauguin, frustrated by van Gogh''s refusal to acknowledge his increasingly troubled mind, will depart for Paris. In two years, van Gogh will be dead by his own hand. In the meantime, the friends discuss their craft; they frequent a local caf¿hat van Gogh will soon immortalize; they become acquainted with a young prostitute, Lotte, who becomes Gauguin''s lover; they argue; they paint.
In Derek Walcott''s new historical play, O Starry Starry Night, two world-renowned artists come to life as they wrestle both with grand themes¿friendship, loyalty, fame¿and with more mundane concerns, money primary among them. The scenes Walcott sketches summon several of van Gogh''s most famous paintings: Sunflowers, The Night Caf¿i>, The Bedroom at