Art itself will set the tone as those attending "ART" enter the lobby to the Frank W. Bridges Theatre.

A dozen pieces of art are arranged like a makeshift gallery in front of the ticket counter. Each piece can be bid on to raise money for Riverland theater scholarships.

And every work revolves around one theme -- white.

A white-colored painting drives the Summerset Theatre's second production of the season -- "ART." The play opens tonight at Riverland Community College.

"ART" follows the reactions of three friends after one of them buys a painting in varying shades of white for $200,000.

Jerry Girton plays the painter's buyer, Serge, a successful dermatologist.

"He considers himself very modern, very contemporary," Girton said.

His friend, Marc, played by John Wagner, is shocked Serge paid so much for a white painting and tells him so.

"He's very condescending," Wagner said of his character. "I don't have a lot of tolerance for modernism. I want things to stay as they are."

The third friend, Yvan, played by James Douglass, tries to remain neutral throughout their disagreements.

Soon, conversations about art turn to analysis of relationships.

"It gets pretty vicious," Director David Dahlquist said.

"ART," a comic drama, was written in 1994 by Yasmina Reza. It won the Best New Play honor at the 1998 Tony Awards, the Olivier Award in London and the Moliere Award in Paris.

The play examines the value of modern art and friendship through monologues and conversations between the friends. The three friends are the only characters in the play.

"It's fun," Girton said. "It gives you a chance to focus on the characters rather than the masses."

The actors and Dahlquist hope the audience comes away with thoughts about relationships and friendship as well as art.

"I think they'll like the friendship, the thoughts about friendship," Girton said.

"ART" opens at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Frank W. Bridges Theatre. It continues at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the Riverland Box Office or Nemitz's/Black Barts. The play contains language that many be objectionable to some.