Review: THE OTHER MOZART restores a genius at Aux Dog Nob Hill

Wolfgang's sister has an audience's again, 247 years later--in a one-woman show, "The Other Mozart," touring from New York and playing at the Aux Dog Theater Nob Hill until January 31.
Circumscribed within an enormous white dress of classical-era Munich fashion, Maria Anna Mozart combs through hundreds of papers littered within the cloth. These papers are her family's actual letters (mostly from her brother and her father, since so little of her own correspondence survives), which she reads as she tells the story of her life, the story of a prodigy constrained by societal oppressions and ultimately forgotten in her brother's shadow.

The playwright Sylvia Milo is, in contrast to Maria, a diversely accomplished woman--a musician (of the violin, which had been forbidden for Maria), director, and actor--based in New York (as fashionable to modern Burquenos as Munich was to Maria). Samantha Hoefer, who plays Maria, also has a formidable biography--acting on prestigious stages around the world, well into her womanhood (whereas Maria had to stop her world tour as soon as she reached puberty). Both women have success and freedom of expression, the likes of which Maria could've hardly dreamed (unless she dreamed for her brother). So why do these empowered women need to produce Maria's ancient and sequestered story?
I found myself asking this question of relevance right away. The play begins with Maria's childhood: Discovering her musical talent, and the same discovery within her baby brother--discoveries of prodigy that spurred the siblings' first European tour. While interesting history, I was skeptical--was this just another stuffy period piece, an escapist drama of exotic hair styles and flowing dresses--but no substance?
But then Maria grew up, and her innocence faded; society repressed her. At this point in the story, my question of relevance also faded, because here playwright Milo attacks inequalities woven deep within our present society: Maria reads numerous sexist quotes from influential thinkers of her time, many of whom continue to be influential now (such as Kant)--unmasking the bogus pseudo-intellectual justification for male superiority that sustains Wolfgang as an icon (then, and now) but destroys Maria (then...and now?) Here, my question flipped: Myself a male, I felt defensive. Was this lecture necessary? I wasn't oppressing her--I was watching her on stage! Couldn't she just tell her story without undermining my history?
The proof of the show's artistry was how these two opposing questions--of social relevance, and social defensiveness--synthesized within me to forge an active sense of social responsibility. Hoefer's performance--intimately relatable, while still authentic to period-style movement--drew me through the historic distance and over the social discomfort. Impeccable technical elements--an elegant choreography of light, sound, and other (powder, perfume) sensory language--cast Maria's dress, letters, and person in ethereal, tangible emotional substance. The narrative, though intentionally feminist, was authentic--grounded in real archives.
My chief dissatisfaction with "The Other Mozart" was that it was too constrained; her story, though full with words, was only discriminately performed--while Hoefer acted-out the cute and ladylike family scenes, she simply told about the extensive and messy illnesses she endured. The exception to this 'proper' performance was in a single explicit portrayal of Wolfgang's sexuality. Yet Maria's sexuality was only modestly mentioned, which leads me to wonder if this production--in the name of modesty--has accidentally played-into the same sexual double-standards it seeks to expose.
Perhaps director Isaac Byrne made the deliberate choice to admit such constraints, in order to be true to Maria's historic character. A contemporary woman like Milo or Hoefer may feel freer to demonstrate her full nature--not only family and fashion, but also illness and sexuality. But the purpose of showcasing Maria Mozart's story is not to free her, but simply to restore her, to bring her female voice into the gender-disparity of our inherited history, and set the stage for a more-balanced present.
Maria's dress, littered with Mozart family archives, makes a strong impression on the Aux Dog stage, and her story impresses the heart. Soon Maria and her dress will pack up and go, as the show tours onward: See her while you can! Because as soon as she goes, we'll return to now, where we must use the space that her impression left (lest that impression fade and we forget again) for our full expression, our historic freedom.

Showtimes:

January 29 - January 31
Friday and Saturday 8 pm, Sunday at 2 pm

Aux Dog Theater

3011-3015 Monte Vista Blvd, NE

Albuquerque NM 87106

More info at:

Tel: 505.254.7716

Email: info@auxdog.com