Review: AMADEUS at REC ROOM ARTS

Peter Shaffer’s stage play Amadeus is infinitely darker and more profane than the Milos Forman cinematic adaptation. It is also far more intense than the recent STARZ mini-series translation. Shaffer’s theatrical version was written in 1979, and it mined the (heavily fictionalized) jealousy of the royal court composer Salieri at the genius of the former child prodigy Mozart. In this piece, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a boorish, naughty, improper figure who, nonetheless, is blessed by God with great talent. He brings something new to the world, and he has no respect for propriety or tradition. Salieri recognizes this and seethes to the point of wanting to impede and possibly kill his rival composer. The show is bookended by powerful solo monologues from Salieri on his dying day, in which he finally confesses sins against Mozart and his Maker. This book places greater emphasis on the jealous composer and his anger at realizing he will always be a notch below a genius who has been blessed far more than he has. Rec Room Arts has scaled down the often lavish production to a simple white, tight box with a revolving piano inside. We are inside Salieri’s head or tomb, and there truly would be no difference. It is his memory, his fever dream that we witness. Ghosts abound, and the entire proceeding feels haunted. But these are no ordinary spirits, because director Matt Hune and his cast have something up their sleeve, and this is Amadeus with a bite at the modern world as much as the past. 

There are no fewer than three bravura performances in this production of Amadeus. Luis Galindo shows he was born to be Antonio Salieri, with his trademark explosive volume and passion on full display. Galindo goes for broke, and he hits the right notes in every scene (a tough bill since Shaffer keeps Salieri onstage non-stop). I love him most when he mines the physical moments and the quiet ones. He adds so many colors to this man, and he is what I wanted with someone so angry at God. McKenna Marmolejo re-invents the role of Costanze Mozart. She is sexually assured, blisteringly beautiful, and fully alive in every moment. Her Contanze matches Mozart in kink and devotion, something that I have never seen a Constanze do quite as well. She is fully committed to whatever Mozart leads her to, and often steers that boat. But I have to praise transgender actress Rose Morrigan for putting her body, soul, and mind into the role of Mozart. She gives the bravest performance of the evening, getting so personal and revealing the inner workings of the genius she is playing. She takes the opportunity to give a new spin on Mozart, and one that is politically and personally resonant. She gleefully gets into the thorniness of both genius and queer identity without ever flinching. In the final stretches of the play, it is a breathtaking and heartwrenching performance. The supporting cast is made up of some of Houston’s best actors; each one could and has carried a major show all by themself. Wesley Whitson, John Dunn, Kendrick “KayB” Brown, Austin Hanna, and Hanna Frampton all provide the chorus for the events, and they are masterful in executing all of it. There is no weak link; there is nobody here to be filler. Everyone is an acting genius, and the show benefits from having this group together to fill out the music of Shaffer’s language. 

Matt Hune may be directing in a small sixty-seat venue, but he gives this Amadeus an epic feel by containing it so tightly. For the first time, it’s a bottle story. It’s sleek, and he assuredly fills the stage, making it feel like a company twice this size is before you. Stefan Azzizi’s set is simple but densely decorated. He makes magic for the REC ROOM. He collaborates with Ian Evans to create lighting that goes appropriately from blinding to murky as the mood mandates. Macy Lyne’s costumes are kinky and gender-bending. Corsets for everyone, including men! Black and white are used strategically to inform where we are morally. She does a great job! But if there is another maestro in the house, it is Robert Leslie Meek, who offers original music and sound design. It goes from two-note drones to explosions of concertos, and there’s always a rumbling, a buzzing, or a storm in the works. His sound design never lets up, and is as genius as the composer Mozart. 

One thing I always ask is why resurrect a script from 1979? What can it say to today? Matt Hune and his casting have made Amadeus speak directly to Texas and its queer community, intentionally or not. In the text, Mozart is an outsider, someone who is a visionary who breaks all the rules. By casting a transgender woman, we have a political outsider in the culture wars swirling around us. She presents a challenge to how things have been done. And not only is this true to general society, but because many of the actors play their parts as openly gay, it is revealing a chink in the LGBTQIA+ community as well. As John Dunn’s character in one scene rips pages from Mozart’s score, eliminating a dance, it’s as if he is telling the character how to be properly queer. Not only is this challenging Texas and its transphobic legislative ideas, but it is getting into the weeds of even minority community in-fights. All of this gets driven home by Mozart’s death scene, which is staged to confront us directly with our own feelings about otherness. Rose reveals everything that makes her unique, without apology, and it is a moment that will live on in my mind for years to come. The genius is that they have made this play transform into the physical and spiritual sins of today.  

This is a loud and artfully executed production of Amadeus, and this creative group has made it uniquely Rec Room Arts. Salieri envies the other in Mozart, and that transcends in every way we can imagine. Through diversity in casting, this iteration even puts gender and identity on the table. It makes us consider so much more than just the music or the talent. It is evolving the text and having Salieri speak to the present-day audience even more on their own terms. At first, when I heard Amadeus as a season opener, I thought, “How safe.” After seeing the show, all I can say is, “How dangerous.” It is challenging everything the original did and then adding a good bit more. It is great art.  

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