Interview: Playwright Danish Goes 'On the Town' with Bernstein/Von Karajan in Splendid LAST CALL

Playwright Peter Danish—a long-time writer and observer of the opera and classical music scene in New York and around the world—wrote LAST CALL, just finishing a limited run at Broadway’s New World Stages, as a love letter to two 20th century music giants, Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan.

In it, he fictionally recreates their meeting at the famed bar at the Hotel Sacher in Vienna, with lots of humor, powerful performances and unforgettable moments. His insider nods to the music business (e.g., the two men’s playful sparring over the “proper” way to conduct Bruckner) were priceless.

“You never know how an audience will respond to fairly esoteric material like this,” says Danish. “So it was gratifying—not to mention a relief —to hear the cheers that audiences have given the play. It renewed my belief that you can entertain an audience while also respecting their intelligence, whether or not they’re die-hard insiders or simply more typical New York theatre-goers.”

The response was definitely not a given. “True. Bernstein was quite famous in America during the years of his televised ‘Young People’s Concerts,’ as conductor of the New York Philharmonic and as composer of WEST SIDE STORY,” he continues. And there was a ‘little’ film called “Maestro” starring Bradley Cooper about Bernstein that fascinated movie-goers.

“But Herbert von Who? is the response most people outside the classical music community give when the noted Austrian conductor’s name is mentioned.” Those in the know, of course, know how famous von Karajan really was, particularly his years at the head of the Berlin Philharmonic and at Salzburg Festival.

Danish is adamant about the accuracy of the view of the two men he presents. “I’m passionate about getting it all right,” says the playwright. “And it’s wonderful that my meticulous research paid off, and the little ‘Easter eggs’ I included in the script are being noticed and bringing delight to audiences.”

In particular, the segment about Maria Callas is completely unexpected and has had theatre-goers gasping with amusement. In it, the “ghost” of the diva appears in the bar and gives an impromptu performance. Where did the idea for this hilarious, yet touching, segment come from, I asked the writer?

“Well, I’ve been a lifelong Callas aficionado and am proud to include myself in a group where she continues to loom large in the minds of the public, as the recent film with Angelina Jolie proves,” he continues. “And both the maestros were included in the still growing cadre that have endless admiration for the singer.” He asked himself what the point of convergence would have been for these two icons that were otherwise at each other’s throats. Their admiration for Callas was the clear answer for him—and the diva’s magical appearance in the final “encounter of the egos” between Bernstein and von Karajan provided both a tribute to her and a turning point in the play.

I mention that “time seems to stop” in the scene when she appears, and Danish agrees that the shared passion that once fueled their careers played a role in writing her appearance into the play. “It was a blast,” the playwright acknowledges, throwing his head back with laughter. I totally agree about how authentic her appearance feels, particularly the choice of music in the scene: “Il dolce suono” from Donizetti’s LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, which supplied Callas’s most famous roles.

Danish has nothing but praise for Victor Petersen, who portrayed Callas in the fantasia, vocally as well as dramatically, as “an absolute gem of a performer.” Petersen is a countertenor, explaining how he could sound so much like a soprano in the sequence, after studying her recordings and persona. “He was the hotel waiter for most of the play, but we put him into a black gown and wig and he just became Callas,” he says. “If you closed your eyes, you would have believed it was Callas herself singing for the two conductors.”

The result was a show-stopper—hard to believe considering the theatricality of the two conductors’ performances and their impact on audiences. But the play is filled with deliciously written dialogue that is funny yet filled with genuine heart and knowledge—enough so that one could see the odd tear running down the faces of viewers, who had been laughing their butts off a moment earlier in this uniquely theatrical evening.