MASTER CLASS at Roustabouts And Scripps Ranch Theatre
"Master Class," running through December 14 in a co-production between The Roustabouts Theatre Company and Scripps Ranch Theatre, revisits Maria Callas in the final chapter of her performing life; when her voice had faded, yet her fervor for her art had not. Terrence McNally’s play is based on the Juilliard master classes she taught in the early 1970s, creating a piece that blends teaching, storytelling, and confession into one charged afternoon.
The setup is simple: Callas (Sandy Campbell) arrives at the auditorium, ready to work with three young singers in front of an audience of other students, while her accompanist, Manny (Kyle Adam Blair), sits patiently at the Steinway. Everyone soon finds that lessons with Callas rarely stay on topic as she veers into memories, critiques audience members as they catch her eye, and comments freely on everything from posture to Puccini.
The first student, Sophie (Abigail Grace Allwein), steps forward with Amina’s aria from Bellini’s La Sonnambula. She gets only a few notes in before Callas interrupts, challenging her preparation, her commitment, even her emotional stakes. Allwein plays the moment with a sympathetic mix of panic and determination as she tries to absorb and survive the feedback at the same time.
Photo Credit: Sandy Campbell as Maria and Sara Frondoni as Sharon in Scripps Ranch Theatre and The Roustabouts Theatre Company’s coproduction of “Master Class.” (Tim Botsko)
Tony (Ben Read), the tenor, enters with an entirely different energy. Singing Cavaradossi’s aria from Puccini’s Tosca, he brings a lively confidence. His enthusiasm even charms Callas for a moment, who allows herself to enjoy the music briefly. Read’s exuberance offers a welcome lift, giving the room a needed breath before Callas steers things back toward rigor.
The third student, Sharon (Sara Frondoni), arrives already tense, and Callas’s pointed comments about her entrance and her outfit send her fleeing in embarrassment. When Sharon later returns, determined to tackle the letter scene from Verdi’s Macbeth, the result is the production’s most emotionally layered passage. Frondoni captures a young singer gathering herself, retaking the risk, and being shaped, often sharply, by someone who sees her potential.
Amid all this is the stagehand (Tim Benson), who makes appearances as Callas calls him in to adjust the lights, bring cushions, or fetch water as needed. His eye-roll energy adds gentle humor and creates needed moments of lightness between students.
At the center of it all is Sandy Campbell, delivering a thoughtful and deeply engaging performance as Callas. She captures the cutting wit, the perfectionism, and the towering standards; her Callas is proud and egotistical, yet still vulnerable and prone to fits of self-pity. Callas had a difficult life, loved by anonymous mass audiences at some of the best venues in the world, yet always chasing the stability of someone who loved her for who she was as well as her voice. Campbell balances these contradictions with care, letting the edges show without softening the character’s force. Her Callas is demanding, yes, but also unexpectedly vulnerable, and it’s easy to see why students would chase both her approval and her insight.
Under Phil Johnson’s direction, this production treats the material with warmth, inviting the audience to experience not only Callas’s standards but also the emotional history behind them. Projections on the back wall gently expand Callas’s memories without overwhelming the live moments. The pacing allows emotional shifts to register, but nothing feels sluggish or heavy, and humor bubbles up naturally.
The supporting cast is also a talented group of performers, and hearing them sing is a lovely reminder of the opera world this play lives alongside. Allwein’s Sophie grows subtly under pressure, Read is a burst of personality, and Frondoni brings both vocal and emotional range to Sharon’s arc. Blair’s steady work at the piano keeps the musical backbone solid.
Dixon Fish’s scenic design makes the theatre feel like a small, academic theatrical setting while Dawn Fuller-Korinek’s costumes, David Kievit’s lighting, and Ted Leib’s sound and projections frame the production with care.
For Callas, the work is her legacy, and she refuses to let a single detail slide. At one point, she pauses to sip water and still manages to correct her students: “Look at me, I’m drinking water and I have presence.” It’s a reminder of what she expects, and what this production, led by Campbell, delivers.
How To Get Tickets
“Master Class” by ” a co-production between The Roustabouts Theatre Company and Scripps Ranch Theatre is running through December 14 at the Legler Benbough Theatre, 9783 Avenue of Nations, Alliant International University, San Diego. For ticket and showtime information, go to theroustabouts.org