Move over, Banksy. The hottest art in New York right now isn’t on a gallery wall—it’s James Corden, storming the stage at the Music Box Theatre and hijacking Yasmina Reza’s Art in a comedy smackdown that has audiences howling, gasping, and finally leaping to their feet.
This revival of Reza’s Tony-winning play is already loaded with marquee power: Neil Patrick Harris as Serge, Bobby Cannavale as Marc, and Corden as Yvan. But let’s be honest—this is Corden’s playground. He shuffles onstage looking like he’s about to apologize for being late to dinner, and within minutes he’s detonating laughs like fireworks on New Year’s Eve.
The premise sounds like a setup for a bad art-world joke: Harris’s Serge spends $300,000 on a giant white painting—yes, literally white—and Cannavale’s Marc loses his mind. “You paid three hundred thousand dollars for this s–t?” he sneers, landing a line that makes half the crowd choke on their Pinot Grigio. Cue the shouting, sulking, and ego-sparring as these so-called grown men unravel into a schoolyard brawl over aesthetics, pride, and who’s the bigger jackass.
Then there’s Corden’s Yvan—the human stress ball caught in the crossfire. He’s got his own problems, namely a wedding from hell that’s turned him into a twitching raccoon on Red Bull. When he erupts into a four-minute monologue about his family feuds, it’s pure Broadway alchemy: a full-body meltdown that fuses clowning, martyrdom, and desperate best-man jitters. You laugh, you wince, you want to hand him a whiskey and a hug.
Cannavale plays Marc with a permanent scowl sharp enough to curdle milk, while Harris floats through as the pretentious aesthete insisting his white canvas contains “shades.” He sells it with such conviction you almost believe him. Almost.
But it’s Corden who transforms Art from a smart revival into a must-see event. His timing is lethal—every pause, every squeaky whimper, every side-eye lands like a sucker punch of comedy. And then, just when you’ve written him off as the buffoon in the middle, he blindsides you with a flicker of raw vulnerability. Suddenly you’re not just laughing—you’re invested. Against your better judgment, you actually care about these idiots and their overpriced wall décor.
Director Scott Ellis keeps the staging taut and the set sleek, wringing surprising suspense out of nothing more than a bowl of olives and a felt-tip pen. And by the time the infamous blank painting is solemnly hung at the end, the audience falls silent. After two hours of mocking this ridiculous rectangle, you find yourself staring at it like it’s the Mona Lisa. That’s how sharp the performances are—you start to see things that aren’t even there.
Make no mistake: Art isn’t about a canvas. It’s about friendship—messy, ridiculous, ego-driven, but ultimately unbreakable. And it’s about James Corden proving, once and for all, that late-night’s loss is Broadway’s jackpot.
So yes, this is a play “about nothing.” But with this cast—especially Corden firing on every comedic and emotional cylinder—it becomes everything.
Verdict: Corden paints the town hysterical. Five stars, two olives, and one outrageously expensive blank canvas.
Rob Shuter is a celebrity journalist, talk-show host, and former publicist who has represented stars including Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys, Kate Spade, Diddy, Jon Bon Jovi, Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell, Jessica Simpson, and HRH Princess Michael of Kent. He is the author of The 4 Word Answer, a bestselling self-help book blending Hollywood stories with personal breakthroughs. Rob hosts Naughty But Nice with Rob, a top 20 iTunes podcast, and was the only entertainment columnist at The Huffington Post. A veteran of PR and magazines, he also helmed OK! Magazine. Read his latest exclusives at robshuter.substack.com