In case you missed Sunday's paper (I hope you were out having fun on such a fab day), I thought I should mention my review of "Master Class," the third production in the Kennedy Center's festival of Terrence McNally opera-theme plays, featuring a brilliant performance by Tyne Daly as Maria Callas.
I know that this play is not historically accurate in a whole mess of ways -- Callas gave a few famous master classes, all right, but not for unprepared singers; she treated students with kindness, not bitchiness; she probably never said, and maybe never even thought, a lot of the lines that McNally gives her in this play; some details presented here about the Callas/Aristotle Onassis relationship are open to debate. But I still think there is something that rings true about almost all of "Master Class."
In this new production, Callas seems to be right there, in all her formidable divahood and with her inner self visible as well. Daly doesn't resemble the famed soprano physically, yet captures the woman's essence, sometimes in startling ways. It's a terrific portrayal in an awfully entertaining and meaningful play.
PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS COURTESY OF THE KENNEDY CENTER