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Austrian court composer Antonio Salieri does everything right to earn the love of his God. But God chooses to bestow far greater musical gifts on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who is infantile, profane and indifferent to God’s very existence. In fact, Mozart’s middle name, in Latin, literally means “Loved by God.”

PlayMakers Repertory Company, the professional theatre in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will present this tale of 18th-century musical rivals from April 2-20 in “Amadeus,” the last show of its 2007-08 main-stage season.

Show times will be 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 12, and 2 p.m. Sundays. All shows will be in the Paul Green Theatre in the Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road. Tickets, on sale now at the center box office, are $10 to $40.
For information about PlayMakers and to purchase tickets, call (919) 962-PLAY or visit www.playmakersrep.org.

Producing Artistic Director Joseph Haj will direct the Tony Award-winning play by Peter Shaffer. At noon on March 26, Haj will give a free public director’s talk and set preview in the Paul Green Theatre.

“‘Amadeus’ is a brilliantly funny and sometimes tragic examination of a man at war with his God,” Haj said. “Salieri, in the long shadow of Mozart’s undeniable genius, cannot forgive his creator for endowing him with comparative mediocrity.”

Special events during the run will include:

  • an opening night gala on April 5 with a reception after the play;
  • preview performances April 2, 3 and 4;
  • post-show discussions on April 9 and April 13; and
  • an all-access performance for attendees with special needs on April 15.

Winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Play, “Amadeus” ran for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway. It was made into a film that won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay for playwright Shaffer.

“This play wrestles with huge ideas, huge emotions and is set to the astonishing music of Mozart,” Haj said. “It’s the Cain and Abel story, transplanted to the royal court of Vienna during the 1700s.”

Last season, Haj directed Tony Kushner’s adaptation of “The Illusion” at PlayMakers. He previously directed “Not About Heroes,” listed on The News & Observer of Raleigh’s 10 Best List for 2004. He also adapted and directed PlayMakers’ production of “Cyrano de Bergerac” in 2006.

“Amadeus” will be performed by an ensemble cast of 20, with Ray Dooley as Salieri and Vince Nappo as Mozart.

Dooley (Salieri), a UNC professor of dramatic art, has been a PlayMakers company member since 1989. The head of UNC’s professional actor training program, he has appeared on and off-Broadway and won an OBIE Award for Distinguished Performance (in “Peer Gynt”) from the Village Voice.

Dooley has appeared at theatres across the United States, including Yale Repertory Theatre; Hartford Stage Company; American Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, Conn.; Seattle Repertory Theatre; Huntington Theatre Company in Boston; Center Stage, Baltimore; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre Company; Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; and the Santa Fe Stages International Theatre Festival.

Dooley was Father Flynn in the European premiere of “Doubt” at Vienna’s English Theatre. In recent PlayMakers seasons, he has appeared in the title role in “Cyrano de Bergerac” and as Sassoon in “Not About Heroes,” Astrov in “Uncle Vanya,” Tom in “Dinner With Friends,” Arnolphe in “The School for Wives,” and Fool in “King Lear.”

Nappo (Mozart) most recently appeared in “Phallacy” at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York’s West Village. He performed in “The Merchant of Venice” and “The Jew of Malta” in repertory at New York City’s Theatre for a New Audience, both with F. Murray Abraham, who won a Best Actor Oscar for playing Salieri in the film of “Amadeus.” “Merchant” then transferred to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, England.
 
Nappo has performed at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Denver Center Theatre Company, Chautuaqua Theatre Company in Chautuaqua, N.Y., in the United Kingdom with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. 

The production team for “Amadeus” includes department of dramatic art chair McKay Coble (sets), Bill Black (costumes), Marcus Doshi (lighting) and Michèl Marrano (sound).
 
Based in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, PlayMakers is the Carolinas’ premiere resident professional theatre company. The Drama League recently named PlayMakers one of the “best regional theatre companies in America.”

Coverage note: Media are welcome to cover the director’s preview and discussion of the play at noon on March 26. Photography, videography, lights and flashes are not restricted. For additional assistance, call (919) 428-1744.

amadeus
 “Amadeus” poster

PlayMakers contact: Connie Mahan, (919) 428-1744, cmahan@email.unc.edu
College of Arts and Sciences contact: Kim Spurr (919) 962-4093, spurrk@email.unc.edu

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