Opus Night

Tonight, I saw a local theater company's production of a relatively new play called Opus. Written by Michael Hollinger, it's the story of a string quartet that has recently ejected a long time member from their group, and hired a new replacement just as they're about to give a very important and prestigious performance. The question is, has the change in the group really been for the better, or is there still more strife and conflict working against them?

The play was fairly interesting, but something felt somehow "just a little off" as I watched this rendition at Denver's Curious Theater Company. I want to be an articulate critic, but unfortunately, I can't quite put my finger on exactly what was wrong.

I can say that the flow of the piece didn't quite work naturally for me. The climatic final scene sees a massive and loud argument among the five characters in the play -- current and former members of the quartet. It's quite tense and dramatic, and a good culmination for the play. And yet, quite a few people in the audience were laughing at it. Even allowing that some people do actually laugh of nervousness when confronted with such circumstances, it seemed to me that something was off to get this kind of a reaction.

I wondered if maybe it was the play itself, that in its overall construction, it doesn't quite earn this fiery conclusion. But that didn't really feel right in my mind; I also see that the play has won fairly enthusiastic praise in other cities where it has been performed.

So then I wondered if maybe it was the director's fault; that maybe he hadn't mapped an appropriate arc through the script with enough "foreshocks" in anticipation of the final quake. But that also felt wrong. First of all, the director of this particular production was Chip Walton. If you're not a major Denver theater geek, that probably doesn't mean a thing to you, but suffice it to say this he is a very intelligent "actor's director" that has been working in Denver a long time and knows what he's doing. And I could easily point to elements of this play's staging, pacing, and more that showed he wasn't asleep at the wheel here.

Well then, theater really is an actor's medium. Perhaps it was simply a weak link in the cast? Except that when I really tried to identify who that was, I couldn't come up with an answer. All five parts have good moments. I could think of a few monologues by one or two of the characters that didn't feel like they were that strong, but I could just as quickly think of scenes where those same performers brought powerhouse moments to the piece.

Maybe it's as simple as this: I saw the play on a Thursday night, making it the first night the actors had performed it again since breaking from last weekend. Maybe they just had to "work back up to it."

In any case, I thought the play wasn't a triumph, but it was still very enjoyable. It's nice to see a play with which I'm not familiar, and I'd probably give this particular production of it a B-. If close personal drama and/or classical music is an interest of yours, then you might very well have an interest in this play -- either right now in these next two weeks (if you live in the Denver area), or if a company close to you should happen to stage this recent (but apparently popular) play.