Larger than life

When Maria Callas repeatedly insists during the master class she teaches, “This is not about me,” it’s the grandest of jokes. How could it be about anything but the celebrated soprano, nicknamed “La Divina” and as operatic a figure as any of the roles she sang?
In dramatizing one of the Julliard lessons taught by the prima donna in 1972, Terrence McNally, playwright of Love! Valour! Compassion!, hits on an instantly engaging idea. From the moment Callas sets foot on the stage, intimidating pupils, accompanists and audience alike, we’re enthralled by the situation, a snapshot in time that becomes a study of a larger-than-life talent and temperament.
Directing Theatre in the Square’s delightful production, Jessica Phelps West brings out the humor in McNally’s concept. Opera music has a forbidding reputation and Callas (Kathleen McManus) lived a less than happy life, but the play’s comedy makes each alive and accessible to the lay audience. Equal parts diva and drill sergeant, Callas is a holy terror: “Think that was fiery? Wait,” she intones with utter sincerity.
The premise, which gives the audience the role of Callas’ students and spectators, prohibits Master Class from having a traditional plot, making it more of a one-woman show with a handful of characters as Callas’ foils. She mercilessly critiques or complains about her piano accompanist (Bryan Mercer) and a blasé stagehand (David Pollack) before going after three voice students, whose musical selections, including pieces for Verdi’s Lady Macbeth and Benini’s La Sonnambula, echo the loves and ambitions of Callas’ past.
In earlier productions, McManus has shown a tendency to play to the back rows, an approach that here fits the grande dame to a T. Wearing a wide-labeled pantsuit that’s perfect for the period, her every expression and gesture are oversized, from the pointing figure of admonishment to the long-suffering shrug: “If you can’t hear me, it’s your fault.” In character, McManus even ad-libs some appropriate responses to the audience.
The crux of each of the two acts is a kind of reverie during a student’s song. The lighting changes, putting Callas in a spotlight, and she says something like, “How quickly it all comes back ... ” in flashbacks that flirt with being sheer camp. They become almost hypnotic, though, as she speaks the lyrics of great arias, reproduces her old postures and relives triumphs or failures, even speaking the vividly coarse words of her famed lover Aristotle Onassis. The second reminiscence ends with Callas recalling a moment of heartbreak, and McManus’ agonized face very nearly looks like the mask of tragedy.
Certainly she’s wrapped up in her own ego, but how can her mundane present compete with her glorious past? How can these tentative people rival her? She may as well be in Lilliput compared to her students, although the recitals of John Young and Kristin Yoke-Markiton are quite affecting even for opera novices. The amusingly pouty Aimee Ariel has a sweet voice as well, but her character gets it the worst from Callas, who interrupts her before she’s sung a full syllable and criticizes her every aspect.
It’s probably no coincidence that the title Master Class shares so many common letters with “Maria Callas,” almost subliminally emphasizing that she not only embodies her lesson and “class” as refinement, but represents the soul of opera itself. In finding the laughter and tears in Callas’ life and work, McNally and McManus do the diva justice, in effect, listening to her music.
Master Class plays through Nov. 12 at Theatre in the Square, 11 Whitlock Ave., Marietta, with performances Tues.-Sat. at 8 p.m. and Sun. at 2:30 and 7 p.m. $20-$26. 770-422-8369.