Mozart charms in Berkeley Rep’s mini-“Magic Flute”
ZAUBERFLÖTE! The cast of Mary Zimmerman’s The Matchbox Magic Flute at Berkeley Rep through Dec. 8. Photo credit: Alessandra Mello/Berkeley Rep
You step into Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Roda Theatre, and with once glance at the stage, you’re instantly charmed. Without hearing a word or a note, it’s perfectly clear that the amazing Mary Zimmerman has once again conjured theatrical enchantment – this time with her spin on Mozart: The Matchbox Magic Flute.
Since 1995, when the Chicago-based Zimmerman’s Journey to the West made its West Coast premiere under the auspices of Berkeley Rep, the writer/director has been a regular visitor with shows as varied as Metamorphoses and The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci and Treasure Island. Whatever Zimmerman chooses to create, chances are good that the stagework will be visually stunning, deeply informed by primal storytelling instincts and as intelligent as it is wondrous.
THRILLS AND TRILLS: Monica West (left), Lauren Molina (center) and Tina Muñoz-Pandya. are the Laides of the Forest (among other roles). Photo by Alessandra Mello/Berkeley Rep
All of that is true of her Matchbox Magic Flute, which originated at the Goodman Theatre in February. That first glimpse of the stage encapsulates much of what will be delightful about the production. The stage has been transformed by designer Todd Rosenthal into a giant toy theater that has the feel of an illustration come to life. A golden proscenium is centrally adorned with a silhouette portrait of Mozart. Three low-hanging chandeliers are sparkling against a red velvet curtain (they’ll rise gracefully to the azure ceiling when the show begins), and the five-pieces orchestra sits just in front of the stage amid flickering candles, dressed in robes and tall black hats, with their instruments at the ready.
If nothing else happened over the course of the next two hours, just looking at that stage (so beautifully lit by T.J. Gerckens) and listening to this orchestra, under the direction of conductor/keyboardist Sheela Ramesh (adaptations and arrangements by Amanda Dehnert and André Pluess), it would still be a sublime experience.
But Mozart had a story to tell – and a wacky story at that, a sort of serpentine fairy tale about the fraught and fractious road to love and enlightenment.
When the curtain rises, we’re in the forest, where Prince Tamino (Billy Rude) is battling a dragon. From that initial conflict, Tamino is pulled into a drama in which he will fall in love with Pamina (a luminous Marlene Fernandez), befriend birdman Papageno (Shawn Pfautsch in full clown mode) and determine just who the villain in this story really is.
YAAASSS, QUEEN! Billy Rude(left) is Tamino and Emily Rohm is Queen of the Night in Mary Zimmerman’s The Matchbox Magic Flute. Photo by Alessandra Mello/Berkeley Rep
Aside from the abundance of lovely visuals and glorious music, Act 1 is actually a bit of a slog because in storytelling terms, it feels like a prolonged prologue. The voices don’t always match the music in its splendor, but the variety of styles – from opera to musical theater to pop/folk shadings – is a constant reminder that this Flute is its own kind of beast, not opera, not musical, not children’s re-telling but heightened musical storytelling that will constantly surprise.
Perhaps that’s why Act 2’s most welcome surprise is its more focused and ultimately more emotional narrative. Tamino and Papageno must submit to various trials so that Tamino can prove to Sarastro (Fernando Watts) that he is worthy of Pamina’s love. But just as hearts get broken along the way, so, too is love discovered (Papageno, meet the irresistible Papagena!), arias are trilled (the Queen of the Night’s famous aria is beautiful and SO disturbing) and steps are taken toward more serious engagement with the world, the likes of which aren’t often felt in fairy tales as seemingly silly as this one.
Perhaps that’s the impact of the music, about which enough good things cannot be said. It’s not just the wonder of Mozart – it’s also the joy of experiencing live music in such an intimate and transporting way. It could also be that the music in Act 2 finally has relatable emotion to underscore, and its beauty heightens.
Not everything here made sense to me – I never did quite figure out the character of Monostatos – and it helps that everyone is singing in (mostly) colloquial English with the occasional jokey contemporary reference (Jan. 6!). But in true Zimmerman fashion, there’s such economy to the storytelling and such rhythm to the pacing that even when things are a little baffling, we’re swept along to the next scene, or the next beguiling stage picture or the next gorgeous costume (the fine work of Ana Kuzmanić).
Ultimately, the show lives up to its name. There’s more that a little magic in this sparky little Matchbox.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Mary Zimmerman’s The Matchbox Magic Flute continues through Dec. 8 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s Roda Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley. Running time: 2 hours (including a 15-minute intermission). Tickets are $25-$161 (subject to change). Call 510-647-2949 or visit berekelyrep.org.
