[NEohioPAL] REVIEW: World premiere of "Ludwig and Wolfgang" in Canton

[Tom Wachunas]

Ludwig and Wolfgang: Birds of a Feather?
By Tom Wachunas
    In 1787, 16 year-old Ludwig van Beethoven
traveled some 900 miles from Bonn to Vienna with the hope of training under
Wolfgang Mozart, who was then 31. The evidence that such a meeting ever really
took place is anecdotal and otherwise highly disputed. But just thinking of the
possible scenario  (Oh, to be a fly on
the wall of Mozart’s study!) was enough to inspire two local writers – Frank
Motz and Rochelle Haas – to pen an eminently credible story that grew from
their dedicated research on the two geniuses, considered by many to be the
greatest composers of all time.
    The resulting
two-act play, Ludwig and Wolfgang, which Motz directed,had its world
premiere at the Kathleen Howland Theatre on March 23. I can tell you
unequivocally that it’s a truly sublime work, impeccably crafted to exude all
the joy and humor, as well as the brooding pathos of its subjects. What’s more,
you need not be a classical music aficionado to be thoroughly entertained by
the story’s engaging warmth and accessibility.
    The play opens
with the character of Franz Joseph Haydn (historically regarded as “The Father
of the Symphony”) addressing the audience from the anteroom of the Concert Hall
of Vienna University in March of 1808. The occasion is a concert celebrating
his 76th birthday. Leave it to local stage veteran Don Jones to transform
himself so convincingly for this role, right down to his cracked, frail voice
and the ashen skin of old age. Throughout the evening he narrates the
proceedings with genuinely charming, often funny observations and recollections
of his distinguished career as it intersected with that of Mozart and
Beethoven. Jones’ delivery is well- tempered with the gently sad if not
resolved spirit of a great man who, sensing his immanent passing (he died in
May, 1809), wonders how he will be remembered just when what he regards as two
genius misfits are on the rise.
    Another
accomplished veteran of local theatre, John Scavelli, plays Mozart with what at
first appears to be a weary, somewhat jaded energy – no doubt a consequence of
the composer’s well-known penchant for late-night carousing and the burden of unpaid
debts. But it’s an energy that evolves soon enough into a more vigorous spunk
as he spars with the young Beethoven, whom the older composer admits is an easy
target for his barbed wit. Scavelli’s performance is a remarkably facile one
that, while successfully embodying Mozart’s impish amusement, bemusement, and exasperation
with Beethoven’s somber self-absorption, nonetheless conveys an authentic
empathy for his troubled visitor. 
    And in the role of the introspective, prim and
proper, upstart Beethoven, 15 year-old E.J. Dubinski is himself very impressive
indeed -  exhibiting at once a self –assurance
beyond his years and a boyish  vulnerability.
It is a duality that becomes ever more compelling as he reluctantly speaks of
his abusive father. This in turn fuels his disarming, sometimes searing
observations about Mozart’s father, Leopold, causing Wolfgang to feel defensive
and vulnerable in his own right.
    Rounding out the
cast is Jay Spencer. Late in the second act he appears as a messenger,
informing Mozart that Beethoven was called back to Bonn to aid his ailing
mother. Before that, we encounter Spencer as the hilariously sonorous,
insulting voice of a man banging on Mozart’s door, demanding payment of a debt.
In one scene, Dubinski is delightful in his portrayal of the righteously
incensed Beethoven paying the debt from his travel allowance, but only after
extracting a begrudging apology from the disrespectful collector.
 For all the apparent
personality contrasts and conflicts between ‘master’ and would-be student here,
between extrovert and introvert, the two composers do find common ground in
their agreement to seek what joy they can in their art. In one particularly
effective scene during the second act, Wolfgang leads Ludwig back to his
library (appearing as a long row of books visible above and behind the rear
wall of Mozart’s study), and instructs him to climb the ladder to the top
shelf. Ludwig in turn demands that Wolfgang join him. Only their heads are
visible, nearly touching the ceiling as they speak. Kindred minds soaring.  It’s an endearingly metaphorical vision,
really – Haydn’s misfits in a moment of mutually heightened awareness, as it
were. Like birds in flight. 
    Ludwig and Wolfgang shows at 8:00pm
Friday and Saturday through March 31, in the Kathleen Howland Theatre, 324
Cleveland Avenue NW, downtown Canton. Tickets are $10. To order, call (330) 451
– 0924, or visit  www.secondapril.org
    For other reviews
and commentaries by Tom Wachunas on the performing and visual arts, please
visit his blog, ARTWACH, at  www.artwach.blogspot.com
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