Despite a golden missed opportunity to cast global majority actors for the main roles of Mozart/Salieri/Constanze that would have richly amplified the narrative, there is a lot to love about the Pasadena Playhouse production of Peter Shaffer‘s Amadeus with the fantastic set and lighting design, the incredible ensemble cast, and the powerhouse performances of their lead actors Jefferson Mays and Sam Clemmett as Salieri and Mozart respectively.

The stage is set for a riveting rivalry between two composers: Antonio Salieri, the court’s celebrated musician, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the vulgar prodigy whose brilliance threatens everything Salieri holds dear.  Lavishly laced with biting wit, this Tony and Oscar-winning masterpiece dives deep into ambition, envy, and the price of greatness. Embrace the intrigue of Amadeus, where the music is divine and the drama is unforgettable.

My Immediate impressions were strong once the play starts kicks off in high gear as director Darko Tresnjak weaved an immaculate world with an extraordinary creative team and Jefferson Mays commanding so much presence on stage despite starting off in his character Salieri’s older and decrepit self. The set design from Alexander Dodge was absolutely breathtaking and throughout the entire performance, I kept admiring the three dimensional effect of the royal hallways and the beautiful set pieces coupled with the gorgeous lighting design from Pablo Santiago.

I also appreciated that the very first two prominent actors we see are global majority actors Jennifer Chang and Hilary Ward who act as the play’s chorus and comment throughout the whole performance. These two in particular were the kind of wonderful colorblind and genderbending casting that opened this world up but also actually made me wonder why none of the main roles could have been played by global majority actors as well. I’ll get into that more later but it is precisely because of this that despite everything going for this production, I was left wanting more.

There is no denying that Sam Clemmett and Jefferson Mays are dynamite as Mozart and Salieri, Clemmett with balancing the sheer chaotic mania and the vulnerable humanity of Mozart and Mays who transitions between the decrepit older version of Salieri and the younger more arrogant one seamlessly. And Lauren Worsham imbues the role of Mozart’s wife Constanze with so much playfulness, care, and strength that by the end, it becomes clear she is the emotional beating heart of this play. I That exquisite caliber of acting applies to the entire ensemble cast as each and every one brought memorable moments that created such a rich tapestry. Special mention to Matthew Patrick Davis who drew audible gasps from the audience in how freaking tall he is (coupled with a rather amusing performance as Emperor Joseph II).

Being that I’ve only seen Amadeus in the form of the 1984 film adaptation, judging this production in its original play format was an interesting one as my one constant critical note throughout was how many extensive monologues there were for Salieri. While they work in the film format due to its visual narratives that can add more depth, here we only have the actor to command the stage (which Mays does rather well) while delivering such very long monologues that can feel repetitive and drawn out at times. These critical points may seem moot as the playwright Peter Shaffer has constantly revised this play in its 45+ year history but if he is indeed constantly revising it, perhaps the narratives can be shared and we see more from Mozart or Constanze’s (Mozart’s wife) point of view.

With so much that is going on for this production, I could not help but think of the missed opportunities when it comes to global majority casting, especially if they are already opening that door with the non-traditional casting that has already been applied for the supporting cast. Because this window has been opened with Lucian Msamati as the first Black and non-white actor to play Salieri in the 2016 National Theatre production and Will Sharpe as the first Asian and non-white actor to play Mozart in the 2025 television miniseries, I would have hoped that Pasadena Playhouse follow suit in pushing boundaries just a little further.

There is a strong commentary in having a global majority actor play Mozart as the mediocrity of white men often go out of their way to obstruct and destroy the genius of artists of color. Or by having a global majority actor play Salieri, it could add the narrative of tolerating white privilege and its idiocy despite securing success in the mainstream. And there is a certainly strong added “outsider” point of Constanze being portrayed by a global majority actor as she was a person who Mozart’s father greatly disapproved of. Or even better, by having all three roles be portrayed by global majority if the door has already been opened for the supporting cast. As it stands currently, the global majority actors that are already present play their supporting roles with great aplomb but I was left wanting so much more.

It’s not often I come out of a play and vastly admiring so much of it while still strangely feeling a bit hollow inside. While there is no doubt a very large camp of those who say that historical accuracy should not be tampered with, Amadeus has been around for so long that the argument to go further and bolder with the casting (besides the name value that Clemmett and Mays brings) can most definitely be made. Mozart’s music has touched infinite amount of lives across the world and just to imagine the power in casting a global majority actor to play Mozart or Salieri or Constanze or all of them could have such a tremendous impact on communities who have felt ignored or compromised for far too long by the white patriarchal system. To be properly recognized for one’s value is such a universal theme and especially in these days, something we need more than ever. Despite these longing wishes, I still greatly recommend this production as this is still LA theatre at its finest. Amadeus will run till March 15 with tickets and ticket ackage information available at pasadenaplayhouse.org, by phone at 626-356-7529, and at the box office at 39 South El Molino Avenue, Pasadena, CA 91101.