OPUS is not a stuffy, dry, humorless story about a string quartet—let’s get that cleared up right away. While it does follow the behind-the-scenes drama of a classical quartet, the play produced by American Stage is relatable to anyone who has ever had to work with an ensemble of coworkers with different personalities, according to actor Steve Garland, who plays “Dorian” in the production.
“There’s a universality of ensemble work,” Garland says. “Any strata can plug into these relationships, whether you work in a nine-to-five office job or you’re part of a musical group. You’re at this job with different personalities and attitudes—and sometimes workplace romance.”
Garland’s character does get into a workplace romance with “Elliot,” played by Steven Flaa and the two share an on-stage kiss. But director Dan Lombardo says that the play is not a “gay” play by any stretch of the imagination.
“I don’t think it matters what kind of romantic relationship is presented, the point is that two co-workers can fall in love,” Lombardo says. “It’s very organic and those relationships are very common.”
But the gay-theme is hard to ignore.
The plot follows a classical string quartet that fires one of their founding members due to his erratic behavior after coming out of the closet. To fill the seat, the three remaining men take a chance on a gifted, but relatively inexperienced, young woman. With only a few days to rehearse a grueling Beethoven masterpiece, the four struggle to prepare for their highest-profile performance ever—a televised ceremony at the White House.
That’s when stresses and passions create personality clashes that are common in many workplace arenas.
“There are so many moments that people in the audience will respond to,” Flaa says. “It has some lovely theatrical moments.”
It’s interesting to note that the timeline of OPUS is not linear—flashbacks give a “documentary-style feel” to the production, Lombardo says, and creates a theater experience unlike most.
Lombardo credits his staff and his cast with creating a fluent show with atypical challenges for his actors. All five cast members have to mimic their musical talents, since they “play” along with canned music.
“It’s a unique challenge,” Lombardo says. “But you have to take risks. We have the help of Nicholas White (Musical Advisor) to make it look like our actors are playing the music. If you don’t look right, you lose that illusion. Nick got us going great and the sound is incredible. The sound moves, so it feels like the music is coming from the actors.”
The set looks simple enough for OPUS, but like most things—when something looks simple, there’s a history of painstaking work to make the it appear so, according to Lombardo.
“You look at OPUS and you think, ‘Okay, this should be fairly simple—five actors, one set,’” Lombardo laughs. “But this is an unusual circumstance where the timeline, the music and the story create the need for unexpected effects that the cast and crew has really managed to pull off. I think the audience will be very surprised.”
And the audience will laugh—but OPUS is neither a comedy nor a drama, according to Flaa. He says that it mirrors real life, which in itself is a mix of drama and comedy on a daily basis.
“In real life there’s comedy at a funeral,” he says. “Comedy and drama are blurred in life and it’s blurred in this script, which I think makes it even more relatable.”
Lombardo describes it as “organic.”
This marks the first time American Stage has presented OPUS and its run has already been extended to Dec. 5. Audience response so far has been positive, Garland says.
“The theater is a living and breathing entity, and every performance is different,” he says. “True, the story is the same, but the way it’s conveyed may change. It’s a beautiful thing.”
In fact, the entire experience has been beautiful for the cast and crew, according to Flaa, Lombardo and Garland. Each of the men say that the casting suits the play and the characters perfectly and that real off-set friendships have formed.
“This is just a remarkable ensemble,” Flaa says. “This has just been a delicious experience.”
see+hear
What: OPUS
When: Through Dec. 5
Where: American Stage, St. Petersburg
Tickets: 727-823-7529 or AmericanStage.org
