If you are a fan of opera, a fan of theater, a fan of great art, or just like to experience a very special event whenever the opportunity presents itself, you absolutely must go to a performance of the current Capital Stage production of “Master Class,” the Tony Award-winning play by Terrence McNally. As directed by Jonathan Williams and with a bravura performance by Janis Stevens, this production is as close to perfection as live entertainment can get.
If that opening paragraph sounds too good to be true, rest assured, it is not an exaggeration. You won’t see a better performance than Ms. Stevens’ portrayal of the great opera star, Maria Callas, or feel her pathos more fully and appreciate more clearly the sacrifices all great artists make to deliver their artistic gifts to those who can appreciate them.
The play is unique in several ways. First of all, there is no real plot. All the action takes place in a rehearsal studio (great stage set on the diminutive Delta King Riverboat stage by Stephen Jones) where Ms. Callas, in her post-singing-career stint as an instructor to would-be opera singers, is giving lessons. She is assisted by a pianist (a nice, understated turn in the role by Michael Wiles, who also plays his instrument flawlessly) who offers accompaniment for the students as they sing their arias for their teacher.
Three of those students are featured during the course of the play’s two acts. Each, to our ears at least, displayed fine singing voices, but their teacher is interested in more than their singing ability. She is trying to impart some of her diva qualities to each, and to a greater or lesser extent she succeeds in doing so.
Casting the three students was no small task, according to Stephanie Gularte, Capital Stage’s Artistic Director. But in Wendolyn Cooper (Sophie, the first soprano student), Ian Cullity (Tony, the tenor student), and Laura Pyper (Sharon, the second soprano student), the search quite obviously ended successfully. All three convey the issues their teacher chooses to tackle convincingly, and, as noted, they sing their arias impressively.
But the play really isn’t about the teacher’s concerns with their singing. Her interest is in elevating their appreciation of their tasks as artists. And it is this aspect of her work with them that takes the play to where Mr. McNally wants it to go.
Maria Callas was the first real diva of the opera world. She embodied all the qualities, both on the stage and off of it, that are most commonly associated with the word. She was remarkably talented, with a voice that was without peer, and she brought to the roles she sang an actor’s understanding of the characters she played.
And, she was tempestuous and enigmatic, just as capable of throwing a fit as charming an audience.
But there was a darker side to her life, and it is that side that Ms. Stevens, in embodying Ms. Callas, brings powerfully home in the two lengthy monologues, one in each act, that she delivers.
In these monologues (aided wonderfully by the lighting design of Ron Madonia), she reveals the many pains she endured in achieving her greatness, along with incidents of deep anguish in her personal life that largely revolve around her intimate relationship with Aristotle Onassis (before he married Jackie Kennedy). The monologues are the heart of the play, and they provide Ms. Stevens with the awesome challenge (if that’s the right word) of playing both Onassis and Callas as she relates conversations between the two. If you appreciate great acting, you will be in awe of her accomplishment in these scenes.
But even beyond the depth of understanding we gain of Ms. Callas, “Master Class” provides an enhanced appreciation for the sacrifices required of all great artists in mastering their craft and in communicating that mastery to the public. In this sense, the play bears some resemblance to what Darren Aronofsky was conveying in last year’s cinematic exploration of the anguish of the artist in “Black Swan.”
But where that movie was relentlessly dark and heavy, this play is lightened repeatedly with wit and humor. The comedic lines are truly funny and serve to make all the more real the pain that Ms. Stevens portrays in her character’s monologues.
See this play! It is everything great theater should be.
Performances of “Master Class” on the stage of the Delta King Riverboat continue on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 7 pm, on Thursdays and Fridays at 8 pm, and on Sundays at 2 pm, through April 10. Additional information and tickets are available by phone (916-995-5464) or online (www.capstage.org).
So right! Saw it and loved it. Ms Stevens is brilliant!