In the Dominican Republic in the mid-20th century, Generalisimo Rafael Trujillo (El Jefe) ruled his tiny but strategic country with the brutal extravagance of a modern day Napoleon. Nothing threatened his fantasy of unlimited power - nothing except a secret underground movement, at the center of which were four sisters known by the code name butterflies. The gently blooming but unstoppable resistance against the dictator by Patria, Dedé, Minerva, and María Teresa inspired novelist Julia Alvarez to write the best-selling book, In the Time of the Butterflies. 

The story is set in 1958 at a critical point in the career of the superstar abstract expressionist painter. Rothko has been challenged to create a definitive work of art for the exclusive Four Seasons restaurant. His problem: the threatening presence of a neophyte assistant, a voice of a new generation of artists that question Rothko’s theories and label him a sell-out. Surrounded by massive black and red canvases that pulsate with color, the result is an exhilarating and combative battle between student and master in search of the very highest art possible.

John Logan’s scripts for “The Gladiator” and “The Aviator” were both nominated for Academy Awards. He won a Golden Globe with Tim Burton for his film version of the musical Sweeny Todd. He co-wrote the recent James Bond film “Skyfall” and is slated to write the next two Bond films. Inspired by the work of legendary artist Mark Rothko, Logan has returned to his first love - playwriting - and the result is triumphant.