AMADEUS at Pasadena Playhouse with Jefferson Mays

[Dan6]

Posted: 2/15/26 at 3:05am

I caught the last preview of this tonight and thought it was terrific. It's a bit of a Gentleman's Guide reunion, with an outstanding Jefferson Mays as Salieri, Darko Tresnjak directing, Lauren Worsham as Constanze, and much of the same design team (Alexander Dodge scenic, Linda Cho costumes, Aaron Rhyne projections). Sam Clemmett is a funny, tragic, and fully relatable Mozart., and the design elements and operatic voices are all top-notch. I've seen several productions of the play over the years (though I missed the recent Steppenwolf revival), going all the way back to Ian McKellen/Tim Curry/Jane Seymour in 1980, and while nothing will ever match my memory of that original, this is a wonderful way to rediscover the play - or discover it, if you only know the movie. Pasadena Playhouse has fully redeemed itself for one of the worst things I've seen there (the dreadful Sam Pinkleton La Cage Aux Folles) with one of the very best. Highly recommended, see it if you can.