''Bauer'' is a play by

Lauren Gunderson Lauren Gunderson (born February 5, 1982) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and short story author, born in Atlanta. She lives in San Francisco, where she teaches playwriting. Gunderson was recognized by ''American Theatre'' magazine as A ...

that had its world premiere in March 2014 at the

San Francisco Playhouse San Francisco Playhouse (formerly SF Playhouse) is a non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, founded in 2003 by Bill English and Susi Damilano. The theater stages nine plays yearly, including Broadway plays, musicals, and world ...

which also commissioned it. Based on the life of the German painter Rudolf Bauer, it tells the story of how, after having arrived to USA in the beginning of World War II, he was tricked by the fellow German artist and love of his life,

Hilla von Rebay Hildegard Anna Augusta Elisabeth Freiin Rebay von Ehrenwiesen, known as Baroness Hilla von Rebay or simply Hilla Rebay (31 May 1890 – 27 September 1967), was an abstract art, abstract artist in the early 20th century and co-founder and first di ...

, into signing a contract that gave

Solomon R. Guggenheim Solomon Robert Guggenheim (February 2, 1861 – November 3, 1949) was an American businessman and art collector. He is best known for establishing the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Guggen ...

the legal rights to all of his paintings and any future works he created. The play triggered a retrospective of Bauer's work at the Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco.Kimberly Chun
"The Realm of the Spirit: A Retrospective of Rudolf Bauer"
''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'', 12 March 2014

Plot

Art has been defined as freedom of expression. People have argued that painting should hold no boundaries, no musts and don'ts but simply put into colors and shapes anything that flashes through a mind. ''Bauer'' deals with these themes and these following questions: what happens in the collision between the need for the artful substantiation of thoughts and ideas, and the earthly materialistic notion of money? For whom is art created and what happens when the artist is no longer the owner of his art? These questions that are presented through the 90 minutes of animated dialogue that constitutes this play. The characters slowly work through the troubles of money and art as a business as well as the personal problems and dilemmas of their past and present lives. ''Bauer'' is the story of a painter who does not want to paint, the despair it brings on him and his wife. The latter's bold decision to try to make things right by bringing in a lost love, with whom Bauer has unresolved issues after her involvement in making Bauer sign the contract from which all his unhappiness springs. Starring only three actors this play proceeds into the depths of greed, betrayal, love and the freedom of painting, but also the freedom of refusing to do so.

Characters

* Rudolf Bauer: The tortured title character who battles the urge to paint with the feeling of not being able to do so because of the position he is in of no longer owning what he creates. * Louise Bauer: Bauer's caring wife who in a last desperate attempt to make her husband paint again invites his ex-lover Hilla Rebay to their home. * Hilla Rebay: Bauer's long gone German lover who started a relationship with Guggenheim and made Bauer sign the contract giving up his art.

Original cast

Ronald Guttman Ronald Guttman (born 12 August 1952) is a Belgian actor, theatrical producer and film producer. Career Guttman was born in Uccle. He started appearing in French language productions in Europe in 1975, appearing in his first English-language film ...

as Rudolf Bauer * Stacy Ross as Hilla Rebay * Susi Damilano as Louise Bauer

References

{{Reflist

External links

Profile of Rudolf Bauer
by Karole Veil,

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, often referred to as The Guggenheim, is an art museum at 1071 Fifth Avenue on the corner of East 89th Street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. It is the permanent home of a continuously exp ...

''Bauer'' official website

2014 plays American plays Plays based on real people Plays set in the 19th century Plays set in the 20th century Cultural depictions of 19th-century painters Cultural depictions of 20th-century painters Cultural depictions of German men Biographical plays about painters Plays set in California San Francisco in fiction