Bob.

"The reason we work in the theater," says the title character of Bob, " is to ask `What is it?"' Well, what is Bob? It's an introduction to the personality of acclaimed theater director Robert Wilson, who has rocked the opera world with controversial spectaculars, from Philip Glass's 1976 Einstein on the Beach to his minimalist production of Wagner's Lohengrin at the Metropolitan Opera earlier this year.

Pieced together from writings and interviews, the show is a primer on Wilson's artistic philosophy, which prizes magic and mystery above all. "Naturalism is killing theater!" Lob bellows. "Give me some vodka, and I'll tell you who's to blame."

It's an entertaining solo show about an influential figure little known to the general public, not unlike Mary Louise Wilson's portrait of Diana Vreeland, Full Gallop. It's an homage to Wilson's work, incorporating trademark images from his major productions. It's an elegant valentine from one avant-garde titan, director Anne Bogart, to another (neither of whom has ever made a secret of their homosexuality). And it's a bravura performance by actor Will Bond, who delivers an astonishing impersonation of a brilliant and mercurial artist.