'amadeus' At Pasadena Playhouse Is A 'fever Dream': Behind The Scenes Of The Lavish Show

Pasadena Playhouse’s return connected Peter Shaffer’s “Amadeus” whitethorn beryllium nan Tony Award-winning location theater’s astir lavish accumulation to date.

The show, which opens Sunday, features a scrim that has been hand-painted pinch nan notes of Mozart’s “Phantasie für eine Orgelwalze.” The full process, done by a squad of three, took 8 days from commencement to finish. When nan scrim is illuminated, nan aureate notes look to beryllium suspended for illustration stars successful nan sky.

Mozart’s sister, Maria Anna “Nannerl,” handwrote galore of nan brilliant composer’s compositions, and Playhouse caput creator Johnny LeBlanc said nan group worked to create an nonstop replica of her strokes. That attraction to item astatine each level is emblematic of this elaborate show.

Director Darko Tresnjak (center) during “Amadeus” rehearsal astatine Pasadena Playhouse. Tresnjak is known for exploring nan intelligence and affectional foibles of each characteristic successful a play.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

The play is arsenic rich | successful talent arsenic it is successful design. It stars Broadway seasoned and Tony victor Jefferson Mays arsenic Salieri, Sam Clemmett arsenic Mozart and Lauren Worsham arsenic Constanze, and is directed by Darko Tresnjak, who won a Tony successful 2014 for “A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder.”

The red-and-gold, Baroque and Rococo aesthetics of nan show, including nan forced position of scenic designer Alexander Dodge’s set, which makes a royal room look to vanish into nan distance, were meticulously constructed to bespeak nan twisted interiority of Salieri arsenic he grapples pinch his seething hatred for nan scatological young upstart arsenic it crashes against his cascading awe of Mozart’s divine music.

“The full play really takes spot successful a intelligence space,” Tresnjak said during a caller rehearsal. “That location is Salieri’s progressively addled encephalon and what happens wrong that encephalon strikes maine arsenic eminently contemporary.”

Mays called “Amadeus” a “memory play,” noting that “every facet of this accumulation is exploring that — it’s each filtered done nan warped, distorted memories and imaginings of its unreliable narrator.”

The Pasadena Playhouse has 1 of nan fewer remaining on-site segment shops successful nan industry, and its unit of designers, carpenters and painters created elaborate wall sconces and candle holders that go smaller and smaller arsenic they move to nan backmost of nan stage, toward 2 mini doors successful nan center. At 1 constituent successful nan show, character Matthew Patrick Davis, who plays Emperor Joseph II, steps done nan doors.

“Amadeus” head Tresnjak says nan cardinal to his lavish productions is simply a beardown organization of artists, alternatively than a large budget. “It’s each fume and mirrors,” he said.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times )

Mays describes nan infinitesimal arsenic “delicious” because Davis is rather gangly and bladed — moreover much truthful successful his 2-inch, 18th period heels — and erstwhile he unfurls his assemblage into nan room and proceeds down nan stage, nan assemblage realizes what a gigantic fig he is successful Salieri’s mind.

“It’s each changeable done pinch these ‘Alice successful Wonderland’ moments of surrealism,” Mays said. “It feels for illustration a fever dream.”

Music is cardinal to Salieri’s world, and nan sound creation by Jane Shaw strives to entree nan otherworldly powerfulness of Mozart’s euphony done layered backing tracks. An electrical keyboard programmed to sound for illustration a fortepiano is besides embedded successful a handcrafted instrument, which actors pinch philharmonic training tin play.

A fortepiano is being built for “Amadeus” astatine Pasadena Playhouse. A mini physics keyboard will beryllium embedded wrong truthful actors pinch philharmonic training tin really play it.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

Tresnjak has a agelong history directing pinch L.A. Opera and its departing euphony director, James Conlon, worked pinch Clemmett connected conducting. He besides gave nan character a history instruction astir what nan creation shape would person been for illustration successful Mozart’s time. Jeffrey Bernstein, nan founding creator and executive head of nan Pasadena Chorale, drilled nan formed connected their chorale passages.

The cardinal to creating specified a richly textured theatrical situation is not a bloated budget, said Tresnjak, it’s engaging a full organization of artists — onstage and backstage — and giving them free reign to group their productivity loose. Pasadena Playhouse, which is known for being a resourceful company, made that easy, he added.

The show is buoyed by its classical stagecraft, pinch flats, flight stairs and rolling platforms. There is nary machine automation and thing that moves is moved manually, said subordinate creator head Jenny Slattery, pointing retired nan theater’s antiquated manus winches that power a mobile throne.

“There is thing magical that comes from a resonance betwixt nan taxable matter and nan artistic and nan behind-the-scenes techniques,” said Slattery.

A sketch and cloth swatch for Venticelli’s costume successful “Amadeus” astatine Pasadena Playhouse. The costume is nan aforesaid reddish arsenic nan group walls, truthful nan characteristic will look to slice successful and retired of Salieri’s consciousness.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

Linda Cho designed nan costumes and L.A. Opera fabricated nan royal 18th period garments, which Slattery said person go a “staff tourer attraction.” The cloth was originated successful New York and shipped to L.A.; nan ribbons were made by hand. Mays said he sewage giddy and breathless erstwhile he first stepped into his costume.

L.A. Opera fabricated nan costumes for “Amadeus” pinch cloth originated from New York.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

“It makes each nan quality erstwhile you cognize that your sleeves are trim successful a bias and your arms person to do definite things,” he explained. “I find a costume, peculiarly nan costumes of this precocious 18th period period, to beryllium truthful informative astir physicality and really you move.”

In rehearsal, Mays afloat inhabits his domiciled — and his costume — moving pinch a lithe formality arsenic he strives to eavesdrop connected Mozart and Constanze. His revulsion and heavy attraction are connected afloat display. The character said it is not his volition to play Salieri arsenic a mustache-twirling villain, but alternatively arsenic human, recognizable and understandable.

Details connected nan sleeve of a overgarment made by L.A. Opera.

(Ariana Drehsler / For The Times)

“We are each Salieri to varying degrees,” Mays said. “What interests maine are everyman aspects of him. The banality of his evil and nan measurement that evil actions look to ever emergence retired of fearfulness and insecurity.”

The lighting creation by Pablo Santiago helps manifest Salieri’s uncomfortable emotions onstage.

“Darko is personification who likes to activity successful much of nan intellectual, affectional abstraction alternatively than realism. So a batch of it is astir utilizing nan group successful a much absurd way,” said Santiago. “It’s astir shapes and colour and creating afloat shape pictures that are interesting.”

The communicative of Salieri and Amadeus, said Mays, is 1 of twisted love. Salieri gets up each greeting and tries to destruct that which he loves most. Playing nan troubled antihero is “not altogether pleasant,” Mays said, “because you’re marinating successful this cesspool of thwarted ambitions and inadequacy, but past you’re surrounded by this beauty that is simply a changeless reminder of your ain failings.”

When nan curtain yet rises, nan formed and unit dream nan shape will beryllium its ain point of beauty — its ambition afloat realized.