Review: SPT's AMADEUS Has Too Few Notes

Peter Shaffer's stirring play "Amadeus" can move you to the point of tears, but only when it's done well. It is by no means a bulletproof play. Unfortunately the current production at Seattle Public Theater, while managing a few interesting performances, really just stands out as having an unfocused concept and is about as engaging as a history lecture.

Shaffer's play may be titled "Amadeus" but the show is really about Antonio Salieri (Brandon J. Simmons), a fellow composer now an aged wreck driven mad with guilt over his professed assassination of Mozart (Tim Gouran). And so Salieri recounts his days with the brilliant composer and his jealousy for the man's talent even in the face of his own rousing success.

As I said, Salieri at the top of the play is aged, dying and mad. However I saw none of that from Simmons who showed no age, no wear and tear from the journey that Salieri has taken and no madness. Really he just looked like a 35 year old man reading from the script with gusto. Salieri should have a fire trapped in him where Mozart is concerned and as that fire is released his journey should be like a truck with no breaks picking up speed down a steep hill and instead we got a Prius on a nice leisurely drive. And since the show is about 85% him that's a problem since I really didn't see much in the way of levels or arc from him at all.

And this is just one of the points of contention I have with director Shana Bestock's tepid view of the play. The set and costumes all look to have been pulled from a mid 1980's version of a historical drama and she's chosen to cast the Emperor and his court with all women. Now I would be perfectly fine with this gender bent casting or this truly outrageous look if it lent anything to the story. It does not. It looks to have been slapped into the show in order to make it look cool. Yes the look is all very flashy and shiny and it's so "edgy" to change the genders but none of that is enough to cover up the lack of storytelling.

Simmons aside, the ensemble does an OK job with conveying the script but no one really dives into the piece except for Gouran. He's childish and giddy and has a palpable arc and he truly lets himself go mad at the end. Keiko Green as Mozart's wife, Constanze, has a few moments but nothing to match Gouran's dedication making everything around him just feel phoned in.

I have to say I was really looking forward to this production especially with this group of actors many of whom I've seen in some incredible roles, including Simmons, but with the exception of Gouran, I was fairly let down by a production that just told the story instead of living it. The Emperor accuses Mozart of having too many notes in his music but I say this show had too few notes. At least not enough that gave the show depth and meaning and so with my three letter rating system I give Seattle Public Theater's "Amadeus" a bored MEH. A tepid production with lots of flash but very little substance.

"Amadeus" performs at Seattle Public Theater through February 21st. For tickets or information visit them online at www.seattlepublictheater.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.