About the Show

Paul Bettany & Jeremy Pope star in a play about Andy Warhol & Jean-Michel Basquiat's famous exhibit.

In 1984 New York City, Andy Warhol’s light is fading. The wunderkind of the modern art scene, Jean-Michel Basquiat, agrees to collaborate with Warhol on a new exhibition, which soon becomes the talk of the city. Based on a true story, the two artists embark on an artistic and personal journey that redefines both of their worlds.

Direct from a hit run in London's West End, Paul Bettany ('WandaVision,' 'The Avengers') and Jeremy Pope ('Choir Boy,' 'Ain't Too Proud') reprise their roles for this Broadway production.

Critic Reviews (22)

The pairing of art-world bad boys might seem to promise some dramatic fireworks, or at least some gossipy fun, but this vehicle lacks a dramatic motor. The Collaboration is a high-concept pitch in search of a rationale
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While Bettany and Pope are each very convincing as Warhol and Basquiat since they are made up to look exactly like they did in life, they seem to be in two different plays, using different acting styles. The other problem with "The Collaboration" is that it feels very superficial, like a laundry list of items for them to discuss, while at least several of the dramatic devices are taken out of context or are relocated in chronology.
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"The economy and focus of the script has provided the principal actors more than enough to shine in their roles...Indeed, the entire production pulsates with color, vitality, and feeling."
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"Pope and Bethany look the parts but the script isn't compelling enough. By the end, the viewer learns about the work and the relationship between the two, but I’m not sure how much I cared."
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The play has its share of sturm und drang, especially toward the end when the artists engage in an aria-like confrontation that’s the equivalent of the 11 o’clock number in a Broadway musical; however, for much of its two hours it marks time with discussions and debates over each man’s artistic theories and relationship to the commercialization of their work. With so much reliance on theoretical point and counterpoint, no matter how passionately expressed, the tension is usually more cerebral than otherwise.
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"Onstage, though, 'The Collaboration' feels emptily formulaic...It doesn’t bring us any insight into whatever closeness Warhol and Basquiat had."
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"The play imagines what they might have been like behind the masks they fashioned for the public, but rarely gets far beyond the surface."
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"If one thing stands out about 'The Collaboration,' it’s that it offers the most fun on Broadway even when the play isn’t happening."
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Trailer

Creative team