Review: The Art of Heartbreak
Updated: Sep 17
If you abandon your art conceived of rage, where does it go?
Immersive Scene Los Angeles 2026 Review
Arthur Collins was a great painter in his twenties; his promising, though disturbing, work hung at Gallery Darke, but like many artists he was a tortured one as well — perhaps more so than most. So, he walked away from the canvases and disappeared into another life as an anonymous businessman. Some say he didn’t walk at all, that something unimaginable forced him to run. After all, creating dark art was one thing; controlling it proved another matter.
Fallen Saints Presents The Art of Heartbreak, currently playing a spooky-season run in North Hollywood, centers on the enigmatic painter’s past, present, and possible future, and as you settle into your seat in the intimate theatre-turned-art gallery the first thing that strikes you – it certainly won’t be the last – is that all of the painting frames are devoid of art. You simply look through them to the empty walls behind. Where has the art gone? Over the next hour, you’ll discover the macabre story behind their creations and disappearances, and their recent, shocking reappearances.
When gallery host Dee (Gloria Galvan) welcomes you to this special Collins retrospective, she assures you that you’re one of the very lucky few to make it through the doors. You see, Collins’ work is only half the reason so many wanted inside this affair. The mystery behind the artist’s disappearance is overshadowed by what was left behind: a series of corpses – buyers and artists - near which Collins’ DNA somehow appeared at those death sites. Nothing creates great PR like a good old-fashioned murder. Murders, actually. Maybe that explains his swift getaway, even the empty frames, but what of the spirits of dead artists that occasionally pass behind them? What are they trying to tell us?
You’re now transported to another place, perhaps another time, where Arthur Collins (Dylan Anthony Bryant) lives his new life, focusing no longer on oils but on mergers, at a law office in downtown Los Angeles. It’s a typical soul-sucking job with a bro-a’hole boss, Jack (Alexander Alfa), but it pays well and provides relative anonymity to a man who needs it. But it seems his past has caught up with him in the form of a police officer (Lonnie Sugarman) who shows up to question Collins about a recent murder investigation far away in Texas. DNA from Collins was found near the victim. A well-rehearsed alibi sends the lawman on his way, and the former-painter-possible-killer is now free to party downtown with his colleagues at a goth club.
There he soon meets a beautiful singer, Valeria (Ashley Deuell), with a soulful yet haunted voice that seems to match the mood of Collins’ circumstances. It’s obsession at first sight for both of them. Soon, however, Arthur is confronted by a law firm co-worker, Mike (Fabian Lopez), who asks him about a painting a relative bought years ago bearing Collins’ signature. “Did he sell it?” demands a suddenly enraged Collins. Why is he so terrified of his creation? Only the new relationship with Valeria seems to be working in his favor now, even as she digs deeper to challenge him about his career choice as a corporate cog, when there’s obviously something deeper, artistic inside of him that she yearns to see. Maybe it’s best she doesn’t, but it’s too late now, because otherworldly voices are calling to Collins with demands that will crash down his new life if he doesn’t comply. The primal, horrifying art of Arthur Collins will simply not be ignored any longer.
In a season of large productions, this more intimate one resonates with a great narrative, solid acting, and up-close immersive possibilities for its audience of twenty-five maximum. NoHo’s small black-box Sawyer’s Playhouse serves at least quadruple duty in this inviting and quite spooky small show playing through Halloween. The playing space morphs inventively from art gallery to law office to nightclub to apartment and back again thanks to lighting shifts, music redirections, and director Sebastian Muñoz's smooth theatrical transitions. One highlight is a nifty treat halfway in, that I’ve never seen — or rather, heard before — blending live speech with recorded narration, all coming from a single character.
Muñoz not only understands how to keep a one-room show fluid and focused, but he clearly has a keen eye for casting as well. His actors commit to as wide a range of characters one would expect to find in an extended one act: a goth bartender/nightclub emcee pushing Brandy Bela Lugosis and open mic slots, a much put-upon corporate lackey, a gumshoe detective, and a creature – the Covetous Man - who looks like he covets only scaring the hell out of anyone who dares look into his inhuman face.
But the story’s main focus is on Collins and Valeria, portrayed respectively by the naturally gifted, first-time stage actor Bryant, and the incredible Deuell, who not only sings like a smoky angel but doesn’t have a false note in her entire thoughtful performance. Several in the ensemble are also strong, notably Alfa as the Alpha (sorry, it was there) SVP boss from hell, and Zander Raphael, who nearly steals the show in one of his three roles as the gothy bartender. As the hulking Covetous Man, Phil S. Gould, is truly scary, especially when lurking only a few feet away in this small space. Other art-fueled creatures of the night fill out the acting troupe nicely.
Writer Matt Ritchey has crafted a fantastically frightening and quite often darkly funny realist-allegory here. It had me thinking this would be a perfect Twilight Zone episode, but I’m so very glad it isn’t and that I’m seeing it live, all around me as an immersive experience. The dialogue is rich and satisfying and manages to provide genuine scares right alongside moments of humor. Some shows are overwritten, but this one knows exactly how much it needs and delivers just that. One could quibble about Collins not having changed his name after disappearing, but it’s a minor note in an otherwise sharp, snappy script. The ending reveal is quite special.
While spirits come and go, seeming to float around the art gallery’s frames, they proved especially handy during an eight-minute mid-show tech issue, which brought the show to a pause. As the music-audio problem was dealt with, the spirits kept the room active, and some unexpected and perfectly in-character improv from Galvan and a few ghostly cast members kept the audience engaged. Live theatre – these things happen – but it was all handled with style, and when resolved, the best was still to come. We’d finally see the artwork of Arthur Collins: first as reprints of the missing originals and finally, shockingly, as the fully realized manifestations of true anger and repressed creativity. The art has returned to its creator, where it all began in Gallery Darke.
Canned music is intriguing here and sets the mood nicely for each space, particularly in the nightclub. Tech overall is above grade with nice lighting and better sound than is customary in small, black boxes — the latter especially so during the sultry solo number sung by Deuell. One or two of the softer-spoken actors do get their dialogue a bit lost in the nightclub scene as they compete with music tracks, but this could easily be rectified with a bit of playing to the back of the room voice projection. Set design is understandably minimal yet conveys each new location effectively. The centerpiece Gallery Darke feels like the real thing…minus the monsters. Costuming of those creatures, crafted by Melissa Muñoz, is likewise cleverly executed.
This just-larger-than-pocket production immersive is a reminder that sometimes gems are hidden in plain sight. We first discovered the show at a booth at the 2026 Midsummer Scream Horror Convention, where Force of Nature Productions gave a mini preview of their upcoming show. The Art of Heartbreak is the full realization of that teaser, and it’s a strong one for the spooky season.
Sawyer's Playhouse
11031 Camarillo Street
North Hollywood, CA
September 18-26/October 2-3
Tickets: $25.00
