Review: AMADEUS at Shaw Festival

The Shaw Festival seems to be having a small tribute festival to Sir Peter Shaffer as it is presenting two of his well known pieces this season. The dark mystery SLEUTH is now playing to great acclaim at the Court House Theatre and more recently and the comic drama AMADEUS opened at the Festival Theatre. The story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's brilliance and early demise told through the lens of his nemesis Antonio Salieri is full of intrigue and speculation, to say nothing of the genius of Mozart's own compositions.  If only this production were able to deliver  on all aspects of this haunting drama .

Shaw Festival Artistic Director Tim Carroll has chosen to direct this piece himself, having directed the play  two other times. In the program notes, it's clear that the influence of operatic performances on Shaffer's script helps drive the drama. Salieri is dying at the onset and speaks directly to the audience before he sheds his robes and re-enacts the drama, where young prodigy Mozart quite literally barrels onstage into the royal court and takes the music scene by storm. Salieri is gob smacked and jealous from the outset, and his jealousy manifests itself in treachery, deception and a rumor of poisoning the great Mozart. The play has been a hit since it's first productions in London, moving to Broadway and most notably in the blockbuster Milos Forman movie.

Where Salieri  is reserved and courtly, Mozart is young, crass and hyperactive. Salieri composed based on old school formulas while Mozart was innovative in musical design and thematic concepts. The differences in ages and styles create the tension that makes for  a successful production .

Tom Rooney is Salieri, and despite the play's title, the story truly is Salieri's. Considered a forgotten composer of the Classical Era, Salieri strove for greatness and likened musical perfection to grace from God. He was a man who was driven by ego, who kept a mistress while also trying to blackmail Mozart's own wife. Rooney scrapes at the surface of this complicated character, often with glimpses of perverse madness, but never with full on conviction . His asides and comedic commentary seem to fit his portrayal much better than the heavier moments in Shaffer's script.

Michael Therriault is our  Mozart, and while perfect in physical stature and attitude, Therriault is miscast as the youthful composer. The necessary exuberance of a man in twenties is a necessity and while Therriault is often charming, he lacked giddiness and a convincing joie de vivre. Shaffer's script cries for a juvenile savant whose hyperactivity and immaturity contrasts his musical brilliance.

Kristi Frank fared better as Mozart's young bride Costanze, especially in her confrontation with Salieri, but her final scene as Mozart lay dying lacked pathos and fizzled out.

Sochi Fried and Julia Course gave fine performance as the two venticelli, travelling as a pair and commenting on the action. Graeme Somerville made a fine impression as the Emperor who was a man of few words, but delivered them with spot on comedic timing.

Andrew Broderick as von Strack, Allan Louis as Orsini-Rosenberg and David Andrew Reid as van Swieten served as a mighty imperious trio of the Royal Court, trying to keep the devilish young Mozart in line.

The action unfolds in a series of scenes that lacked dramatic arc, and without a strong directorial concept,  left the viewer yearning for a greater tension between the two rivaling composers. Mozart's medical malady and financial ruin demanded more intensity than this staging portrayed.

Musical interludes from THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, THE MAGIC FLUTE and his REQUIEM added the necessary backdrops to illustrate the strides Mozart made in modernizing classical music, including bringing commonplace marriage scenes to the Royal court and Masonic rituals to the operatic stage for commoners.

The utilitarian set design by Judith Bowden did little to add interest except to elevate certain playing areas, highlighted by a raked stage lined with flooring to resemble musical staff paper. Happily Bowden's costume designs were spectacularly detailed, adding some visual interest to the overly drab setting.

Lighting Design by Kevin Lamotte truly was the highlight of the production, providing evocative tableaus and striking dramatic flourishes.

AMADEUS plays at the Festival Theatre of the Shaw Festival through October 4,  2026. Contact shawfest.com for more information.

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