Vincent

In this 1981 performance at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis taped for broadcast on the A&E Network, Leonard Nimoy defiantly sets aside his Mr. Spock persona for a one-man show that he wrote and stars in as Theo van Gogh, brother of the painter, who delivers a quasi-eulogy for his still obscure, unappreciated, and tormented sibling shortly after Vincent's suicide in 1890. On a sparsely furnished stage occasionally emblazoned with van Gogh paintings, Nimoy serves up what amounts to a long, impassioned monologue—much of it stitched together from his brother's letters to Theo—that effectively conveys a biographical account of Vincent's unhappy life and wild self-destructive tendencies, as well as an enthusiastic appreciation of his genius. Nimoy is obviously deeply committed to his subject, both in his writing—which thankfully includes a healthy dose of humor—and in his performance, during which he sometimes effectively shifts into the character of Vincent as Theo recites the dead man's words. A fine complement to Robert Altman's more impressionistic 1990 film Vincent & Theo, DVD extras here include a brief introduction by Nimoy, a backstage epilogue in which he outlines Theo's later life and Vincent's posthumous fame, an audio commentary by Nimoy, and an option to listen to the play while viewing a succession of van Gogh paintings rather than the performance. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)