Theater Review: Master Class

New Broadway Season Starts on a High Note

By Lauren Yarger

The 2011-2012 Broadway season started in a high note – literally and figuratively – with Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of Terrence McNally’s Master Class starring a superb Tyne Daly.

The actress channels opera diva Maria Callas, who in the play, conducts a master vocal teaching class for students after her own career in the stage wanes. The popular Greek-born soprano who tackled Verdi’s Lady Macbeth when she was only 18 years old went on to wow the opera world in the 1950s. She isn’t quite ready to give up the spotlight, however, and the class becomes an amusing collection of vocal instruction mixed with the soprano’s thoughts about her own life and career.

She intimidates students Sharon Graham (Sierra Boggess), Sophie DePalma (Alexandra Silber) and Anthony Candolino (Garrett Sorenson) while bossing around  a stagehand (Clinton Brandhagen) and trying to remember the name of her pianist, Emmanuel Weinstock (an affable Jeremy Cohen), who struggles to provide accompaniment for the singers constantly interrupted by the diva’s ramblings and demands.

McNally combines humor, memoir and expertise about opera to create an engaging script which Daly uses to perfection in creating Callas. Dressed in a simple black pants suit (Martin Pakledinaz, costume design) she even looks like Callas (Paul Huntley, wig design). She tells us repeatedly that this session is NOT about her, then amusingly makes it obvious that it, of course, is all about her. She relives moments on stage and shares details from her marriage and an affair with Aristotle Onassis, at the time, the world’s richest man. Thomas Lynch’s set design, nicely lighted by designer David Lander, takes us smoothly from the master class into Callas’ memories (except for one glitch the day I attended where set pieces didn’t line up correctly and caused a toppling of props).

When she can tear herself away from her own thoughts long enough to focus on the students, Callas tries to help Sophie (showing too much leg and who gets stopped at the first note), Sharon (overdressed, who labors to perform Lady Macbeth in the  grueling session) and "Tony" (to whom everything is a joke) to find their own looks and to connect with the stories in the music they are singing. There are some life lessons in the wisdom she shares about performing in theater as well. 

McNally’s own expertise in opera comes through and we are treated to parts of operas as well Callas’ own voice (Jon Gottlieb, sound design). Sorenson, making his theatrical stage debut, has performed at the Met and numerous other opera companies. His tenor voice is a delight to hear. 

Good writing, excellent direction by Stephen Wadsworth and a diva-worthy performance from Daly harmonize to create a production that deserves a huge Bravo! 

Master Class has been extended through Sept. 4 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th St., NYC. Discounted tickets are available by clicking here. 

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