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Wolfgang and Antonio, it's been a while. I think we last saw
Amadeus in
the excellent Rep East production back in 2010, with Daniel Lench in the lead role as Salieri. Well, alas for Daniel, Jefferson Mays has topped him in the outstanding production of
Amadeus we saw last night at the Pasadena Playhouse. They more than made up for the disappointing previous production
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha back in October. Amadeus is a well known play by Peter Shaffer. Back in 2010, I summarized the play as follows:
“Amadeus” (you may have seen the motion picture) tells the story of the rivalry between Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart… or should I say imagined rivalry, for Mozart didn’t see Salieri as a rival, whereas Salieri saw Mozart as a rival in God’s eyes. The story is told in flashback, from Salieri’s point of view, as Salieri is dying. He is attempting to confess to killing Mozart by relating the story of how he did the deed. He begins by telling how he dedicated his life to praising God through music, but when he saw Mozart’s music, realized that God had forsaken him and chosen Mozart to be his voice. Further, Salieri saw that Mozart was a base and callow fellow, a pottymouthed, childish prodigy, further cementing the notion that the gift must be from God. At the moment of that realization, Salieri vows to make God abandon his chosen voice. Much of the play is Salieri relating how he believes his actions created the situations that drove Mozart deeper into poverty, dispair, and eventual destitution. At the end, Mozart is dead in his 30s, but Salieri lives on another 25 years being elevated in fame, only to know that everlasting fame and retribution will be Mozart’s, for it will be Mozart’s music that survives. Salieri eventually commits suicide so that his name will at least live in infamy, but fails in that as well.
Given how well known the play is, there are two things that distinguish one production of
Amadeus from another: the performances and the production. The production we saw back in 2010 was an exemplar of creativity on limited budget: a small production in an 81 seat black box, with outstanding performances by mostly local performers that were part of the regular Rep East ensemble team. I still remember the harpsicord/piano they built for that production, which remained in the Rep East lobby for years after, until the company folded a few years later. I have no idea what the replacement theatre,
The Main, did with it. The Pasadena Playhouse, on the other hand, is more at the other end of the spectrum. They have a larger donor base, and there was significant additional philanthropic support for this production. They were also able to draw from a different actor pool: unlike the intimate theatre scene in Los Angeles, the PP is able to draw from (and pay for) Equity actors (although I should note that the Rep production did have three Equity actors, including Lench in the lead role). It shows. The Los Angeles Times has
a great article on the production aspects of this show. The article notes the design aspects of the stage created by the Pasadena Playhouse's on-site scenic design shop. This includes "the forced perspective of scenic designer Alexander Dodge’s set, which makes a royal room seem to disappear into the distance" and "An electric keyboard programmed to sound like a fortepiano is also embedded in a handcrafted instrument, which actors with musical training can play." The costumes are quite extravagant, and the LA Times noted "Linda Cho designed the costumes and L.A. Opera fabricated the extravagant 18th century garments". L.A. Opera also provided additional training for the performances of the opera snippets within the production. And yet, this production is an example of what can be done with traditional stagecraft: there are no electronic tricks; there is no projected scenery (although there are some projected tapestries). Construction is flats and trapdoors and hidden stairs. It shows the power of theatre, without the mechanical and electrical supports that productions these days seem to rely upon far too heavily. But I think what really made this production of
Amadeus stand out was the work of Jefferson Mays as Salieri. He just drew you into the performance, capturing well the inner obsession had had all of his life: with his music, with being known, with wanting to be the voice of God... and how that obsession turned from the creation of art to revenge when faced with the upstart and contradiction that was Mozart. For Mozart had the talent; he was a child prodigy that was composing from his youngest days. Music just poured from him. But he also remained childish, with few people skills, a potty mouth, and (according to the play) a childish obsession with sex and bums (asses). Sam Clemmett captured that contradictory nature well, and it played well with the growing infuriation showed by Mays' Salieri at how God bypassed and mocked him in the talent department. The two performances played well off of each other. There were a few other notable performances. Jennifer Chang and Hilary Ward were outstanding as the Venticellis (the aides to Salieri), with great facial impressions. Lauren Worsham was fun as Constanze Mozart, especially in her scenes with Salieri. Matthew Patrick Davis was a hoot as Joseph II, especially as the very tall Davis had to fit through the very small forced perspective doors at the back of the stage. Lastly, note that the Playhouse cast some real opera talent as the performers in the Mozart opera snippits: Michelle Allie Drever and Alaysha Fox have been in quite a few operas. Note that it looks like the Playhouse (now that it owns the building) has finally giving up on its restaurant space ever being a stand-alone success, and has turned it into a bar and lounge, and perhaps a small concert performance space. This is a wonderful idea and a great use of the space. However, the concessions are far too expensive: $9 for a box of cookies or $12 for a chocolate chip cookie is poor form, when one can just walk across the street to The Stand and get cookies for $3.50 or a large brownie for $4.50. A dollar or two markup to support the theatre is tolerable; doubling the price (especially for something that is pre-packaged) isn't.
Amadeus has had its run extended: It now continues until March 15. You can get tickets through
the Pasadena Playhouse website. You might be able to get discount tickets from
the Today Tix website, but Today Tix really is not as good as their predecessor, Goldstar Events.
Credits
Amadeus. Written by
Peter Shaffer. Directed by
Darko Tresnjak.
Cast: Kanajuan Bentley
Van Swieten; Jared Andrew Bybee
Valet / Major-Domo; Jennifer Chang
Venticelli; Sam Clemmett
Mozart; Matthew Patrick Davis
Joseph II; Michelle Allie Drever
Katherina Cavalieri / Soprano; Alaysha Fox
Teresa Salieri / Soprano; Matthew Henerson
Count Johann Kilian Von Strack; John Lavelle
Orsini-Rosenberg; Jefferson Mays
Salieri; Brent Schindele
Cook / Kappelmeister / Harpsichordist; Hilary Ward
Venticelli; Lauren Worsham
Constanze.
Production and Creatives: Peter Shaffer
Playwright; Darko Tresnjak
Director; Alexander Dodge
Scenic Designer; Linda Cho
Costume Designer; Pablo Santiago
Lighting Designer; Jane Shaw
Sound Designer; Aaron Rhyne
Projection Designer; Will Vicari
Hair / Wig / Makeup Designer; Jeff Bernstein
Music Director; Jennifer Ringo
Vocal Coach; Sasha Nicolle Smith
Intimacy Consultant; Miranda Johnson-Haddad
Dramaturg; David S. Franklin
Production Stage Manager; Alyssa Escalante
Asst Stage Manager; Ryan Bernard-Tymensky
Casting.
Administrivia
I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does
a highway site and
a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at:
Center Theatre Group/
Ahmanson Theatre;
Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre;
Pasadena Playhouse;
The Soraya,
Chromolume Theatre NEW, and
5-Star Theatricals. We just added Chromolume Theatre as our intimate theatre subscription — we
subscribed there pre-pandemic when they were at their West Adams location, but they died back in 2018. They started back up last year (but we had seen all their shows); this year, their season is particularly interesting:
The Color Purple,
If/Then,
Elegies (during Hollywood Fringe), and
Roadshow (nee
Bounce) [by Steven Sondheim]. Mind you, these are all in the intimate theatre setting, and this will be the first time
Roadshow has been done in Los Angeles, to my knowledge. Information on purchasing their 2026 season
is here. Our previous intimate theatre,
Actors Co-Op, seems to be on hiatus. Want to find a show:
Check out the Theatre Commons LA show list. Other good lists are the
Theatre in LA listings; the
TodayTix listings;
OnStage 411 (use the “shows” drop down); and
Theatermania. I used to do more detailed writeups;
here’s my current approach.
Upcoming
♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90
ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).
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