By Richard Pacheco
Second
Story Theatre’s
current production of Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” is memorable with sparkling
performances and vivacious energy.
The play is set in the court of
Austrian Emperor Joseph II where his court composer is Antonio Salieri, with
deft social skills and mediocre musical talent. Into Salieri’s world comes
Amadeus Mozart, musical genius who is childish, crude and rude socially To make
it all worse, Mozart doesn’t care about his social ineptitude. Probably
Shaffer’s best known work, he calls it “a fantasia on events in composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s life.”
The play, which won a Tony for best
play in 1980, creates a confrontation between the mediocre Salieri and the
genius, Mozart, in a complex, probing investigation of the human psyche and
Salieri’s descent into a venomous desire to destroy his hated rival any way he
can. Salieri does not merely hate Mozart, but hates God as well for bestowing
the effortless brilliance onto Mozart and not him. It is Salieri’s war against
God as much as Mozart and it is gripping to watch.
Salieri is suspicious of Mozart’s
arrival and quickly develops a dislike for him. In part it is because Mozart
has such effortless talent and basically just copies onto paper the music which
has already been composed in his head. It is also because Mozart has no public
manners and cavorts about like a spoiled child no matter where he is and in
anyone’s company. Finally it is a brooding resentment he ends up having.
Salieri as a young man pledged himself to God, to be his servant, to serve his
fellow man. And here is Mozart, an out of control, self absorbed brat with more
musical talent in his fingertip than Salieri has in his entire body. The proof
of this is when Salieri has composed a march for Mozart’s arrival and a short
time later Mozart turns the frail, silly piece into a variation with depth and
richness, with incredible potential. It infuriates Salieri and the game is
afoot.
Ed Shea, artistic director of Second
Story, is brilliant as Salieri, full of brooding misery and intensity. Yet he
has humor. Shea deftly and convincingly conveys the moral contortions Salieri
goes through as he moves from pious man to someone overwhelmed with envy and
jealousy, determined to destroy his rival.
Andrew Iacovelli is fascinating and
forceful as the childish yet brilliant Mozart. Mozart is rude, crude and
obnoxious and Iacovelli makes it all vastly entertaining and sheer fun as he
cavorts about with reckless abandon and totally disregard for his circumstances
in terms of the comments he makes or the actions he performs. Iacovelli is an
able foil for Shea.
Valerie Westgate is perky and saucy
as Mozart’s wife, Constanze. Constanze is a fun time girl who can be a childish
and sexually provocative as Mozart. She and Mozart are often like little
children who relish being naughty in front of the adults.
John Michael Richardson is delight
as the amusing Emperor Joseph II. He is
flamboyant and funny in the role as the somewhat foppish emperor who sums up
his every decision with, “Well, there it is.”
Chris Conte is the solemn and
doctrinaire, Prefect of the Imperial Library. He is an ardent Freemason, lover
of old music and probably lacking any sense of humor at all. Conte handles is
with conviction and style, offering the character’s stiffness with a contained
energy—a man under restrictions.
F. William Oakes is Von Strack, a
stiff and proper Royal Chamberlain. He is official to the bone and totally
humorless. Oakes captures the too proper presence with restrained composure and rigidity.
David De Almo is Orsini-Rosenberg,
a man who is supercilious and the opera director. He is full of personal
grandness and slightly pretentious. De Almo handles it with control and
ability.
The rest of the cast are efficient
and effective.
Director Pat Hegnauer keeps
everything moving relentlessly along with zest and finesse.
Candis Dixon’s set is charm itself.
To one side is a large fireplace, very imposing and prominent. At the other
side of the stage is a regal looking bed with a crucifix hovering prominently
above it. In the center is the main area where a large part of the action takes
place with a chair and nearby table with Salieri’s treats. The large window
behind and massive doors are very effective.
The only issue I had with the
productions was the costumes by Ron Cesario, while many were full of historical
accuracy and nuance, some were garish and overly bold, like escapees from glam
or glitter rock idols.
The production is a delight and through
fine acting it ably captures the intense, if at times secretive (as Mozart does
not suspect) machinations of Salieri as
he falls from grace as pious if mediocre man dedicated to God and his fellow
man to a man obsessed with his mortal enemy’s destruction for being so talented
and chosen by God
It continues until Feb. 24. Box office 401-247-4200. www.2ndstorytheatre.com Tickets $25, Performances Wed, thru Sun. at 8 pm, except for Sun. which are at 3 pm and 7 pm on different Sundays.
