Master Class - MST – Chelsea Market

Master Class
By Terrence McNally
Directed by Mark Adams
Jan. 2 – Jan. 24, 2010
MST – Chelsea Market

Terrence McNally’s creates a Master Class given by Maria Callas to reveal the contradictory personality of this
revered as well as reviled artist -- proud and egotistical yet also vulnerable and self-pitying. As Callas tries to
impart to her hapless students the dedication it takes to invest dramatic music with real feeling, the play pays tribute
to the dedication of a great singer and actress to her chosen art. Of the 1995 production in New York, the New
York Times raved, “…For Mr. McNally, the play demonstrates his ability to create rich, vivid, satisfying
theater…MASTER CLASS is an unembarrassed, involving meditation on Callas' life and the nature of her art. Such
subjects are not easily dramatized, certainly not with this brio."

Maria Callas is teaching a master class. She's glamorous, commanding, larger than life—and incredibly funny. An
accompanist sits at the piano, at the ready. Callas' first "victim" is Sophie, a ridiculous, overly-perky soprano.
Before the girl can sing a note, Callas stops her—she can't stand hearing music massacred! And now what has
started out as a class has become another stage for Callas herself. She glories in her own career, dabbles in opera
dish and flat-out seduces the audience. MST’s production will star Celeste Roberts as Callas.

Main Street Theater