Maria Callas spent most of her life over the top. A great singer with an ego to match, she personified the word “diva,” and her talent was enough to make her a star, a soprano of power and personality. She defined a number of roles. But at the same time, her offstage life was a mess, and that’s the nail on which playwright Terrrence McNally hangs “Master Class,” a tour de force for Lavonne Byers as Callas. It opened last night as a production of Stray Dog Theatre; it will run at the Tower Grove Abbey through Oct. 2.
Byers is brilliant in the role, fierce and frightened in turn. She demands attention from start to finish, and gets it. Born in New York in 1923, shortly after her parents emigrated from Greece, she was on the downhill run of her career when we see her, in a rehearsal hall with Manny, a slightly bored pianist, awaiting the arrival of students seeking advice, although humiliation is a rather high price, paid happily by insecure young singers. Humiliation works in both directions, however, and Callas paid dearly during her long-time relationship with Aristotle Onassis. Married to an Italian businessman who guided her successful career, she left him after she became involved with Onassis, who later chose to marry Jacqueline Kennedy rather than Callas.
We learn of Callas’ personal life, and tragedies, and the abuse she lived through, as she drifts into reveries while her students perform, or just wait for her attention to return to the subject at hand. Onassis and others abused Callas harshly, perhaps more than she deserved–and she deserved a lot. Byers is excellent in these flashbacks, her posture a quick indication of what is going on in her head. She controls the role, fitting as well into Callas’ mind as she does into the dark pants suit she wears.
Gary F. Bell, director and artistic director of Stray Dog, keeps Byers on a narrow path; it would be easy to go over the top, and the restraint by both director and actor is shown impeccably. Martin Fox is just right as the accompanist, not intimidated by Callas and with a nicely dry sense of humor. Jessica Tilghman, Leslie Sikes and Jon Garrett are the students, not knowing how to respond to the diva, not really knowing why they are there. Sikes is the only one to respond in kind after being told that her red gown should never be worn before midnight. Byers is good at throwing that type of dart at the young singers, and she provides a lot of laughs mixed in with the tragedies–and some of the triumphs–of her own life. It’s a good play, and Byers’ performance emphasizes its excellence.
McNally won a Tony in 1996 for the play, as did Zoe Caldwell (Callas) and Audra McDonald (in the role played by Sikes). Patti LuPone, Dixie Carter, Tyne Daly and Faye Dunaway all have played the Callas role, and Judith Roberts did it quite well in a Rep production in 1998.
Master Class, a Stray Dog Theatre production at the Tower Grove Abbey, 2336 Tennessee Ave., through Oct. 2
—Joe