Photo by Marketa Ebert. Antioni Salieri (Norm Gleichman) pretends to help Mozart (Zachary Brewster-Geisz) while ruining his career.

Published on: Tuesday, March 17, 2009

By Ben Swartz

Some things never go out of style. For over 200 years, the work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has constantly produced the most wondrous feelings in musical aficionados and layman alike.

So why should a play about his life, music and eventual downfall be any different? The most recent production of “Amadeus,” now playing at the Greenbelt Arts Center, captures not only the drama surrounding the great composer’s life but also the richness of his compositions.

A story of rivalry and jealousy, “Amadeus” is narrated by famed Italian composer Antonio Salieri in the last moments of his life. As a withered old man Salieri recounts his relationship with Mozart’s through a series of flashbacks. A man of notable musical talent, Salieri is thrown into disarray when Mozart’s obvious brilliance leads him to realize his own mediocrity.

Photo by Marketa Ebert. Mozart (Brewster-Geisz) shows part of his opera, The Magic Flute, to his wife Constanze (Christa Krosner).

Putting on a production of “Amadeus” is no small task for any theatre, but a smaller theater, like the Greenbelt Arts Center takes on a tremendous task. For one thing “Amadeus” is a play with a pedigree, winning a Tony award for best play in 1981 and an Academy Award for best picture in 1984. But more important, any theater to put on “Amadeus” must also be prepared to give a sufficient concert of Mozart’s music.

This is where the play excels: for theater so small the Greenbelt Arts Center becomes an impressive concert hall as the small orchestra, under the musical direction of Dan Sitomer, plays Mozart’s concertos, and a bevy of talented singers belt out his operas. Even those who thought they could never enjoy opera will be struck with the beauty and humor of the portions played from Mozart’s opera, “The Magic Flute.”

But music is not the only joy of Amadeus. Like Sitomer, director Curt Somers is capable of doing more with less. The small space easily becomes any of the great foreign settings under his capable direction; not just a concert hall but the small residence of Mozart or Salieri, the court of Emperor Franz Joseph or the ballroom of a grand costume party.

During the play’s three-hours-plus running time, Salieri, played by Norm Gleichman, proves a capable narrator. Salieri spends most of the play stopping time, explaining the significance of actions and generally soliloquizing every thought and feeling that enters his brain.

Gleichman certainly has the talent to keep an audiences attention through the whole of the play, but it is Zachary Brewster-Geisz who steals the show as the young, crude and incredulous Mozart.

Throughout the play Brewster-Geisz is able to wax comic and tragic without the least bit of hesitation; patrons will laugh hysterically at Mozart’s profanity laden jokes and lament his eventual downfall.

The major problem of Somers’ Amadeus is for much of the play there is a tendency to focus more on the comic elements, downplaying Salieri’s torment. The tragic elements don’t really manifest until the final scenes of the play, and then they squash any pretense of comedy until the horrific end. The transition from comedy to tragedy is a bit clumsy and may turn off some audience members who for the first two and a half hours of the play have grown accustomed to the humor of the work. But many will forgive the awkward transition thanks again to the superior acting of Brewster-Geisz.

Despite these problems, “Amadeus” proves to be an enchanting musical and dramatic treat for the audience.

“Amadeus” continues to play at the Greenbelt Arts Center though April 4. For tickets call 301-441-8770, or online at www.greenbeltartscenter.org.