“THE SCHOOL OF THE WORLD”
Vantage
Theatre at Centro
Cultural de la Raza
Airdate: 06/01/07
“The School of the World” is no child’s play. It’s
an intriguing story, a conjectural history partly based in fact. The action
takes place in 1503, in Florence, which was a social/cultural/political
power-center during the Renaissance. The two most brilliant artists of the day,
Michelangelo Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci, were commissioned to paint giant
murals in the Great Hall of the newly built Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of the
Florentine government. But the young prodigy, Michelangelo, and the middle-aged
master, Leonardo, were vehement public rivals, and the Chief Magistrate who
hired them played on that detail. He specifically wrote into their contracts
that the two men were to work ‘in competition,’ which was intended to provide
incentive, and entertainment for the masses (in terms of the artistic and
personal discord), and to engender a pair of masterpieces that would
celebrate the military victories of Florence for all time. But neither mural
was ever finished. And that’s all we know.
Beyond that,
speculation takes over. The incomplete frescoes were painted over when the
Florentine Republic collapsed, and only the sketches survive, though we don’t
really learn that in the play. But what actually happened within those four
walls is the springboard for guesswork and supposition by first-time playwright
Sal Cipolla, a New York musician, film director, comic and sometime actor. When
Cipolla met Dori
Salois, artistic director of Vantage Theatre, at the San Diego Actor’s
Festival, he pitched his play. Since Vantage likes new work and big ideas, they
took on the challenge, collaborating with the Centro Cultural de la Raza, which
offers an expansive, high-ceilinged dramatic playground, those pesky,
view-obstructing pillars notwithstanding.
In some ways, the play doesn’t quite rise to its
lofty themes. But some problems also rest with the production. It looks great,
with a spare, suggestive set, attractive Renaissance costumes, and imaginative
use of projections to show the evolution and development of the paintings over
time. But director Salois and her husband, Robert Salerno, allow some of the
actors to seriously overact; there’s a silly trio of Three Stooge-type
government functionaries, and several performers play their role on one note --
shrill. There isn’t much depth of character or discussion of art or technique.
It’s not even clear why the two superstars are such adversaries. Their
homosexuality is hinted at but not explored, though among other things, that’s
a passion they shared. But we do get some sense of the spite and arrogance of
these geniuses, who both admire and disparage each other’s work.
The play does show us that it’s not a new idea
that government contracts are problematic. We also learn that neither of these
master artists was known for completing his work, but it’s not clear why. This
Michelangelo comes across as a snarling, pompous loner, a pugnacious boor,
though he was actually a minor nobleman by birth. Leonardo is a loquacious,
long-bearded schemer, with his head forever in the clouds, imagining his next
great invention. In another clever use of projections, we see him make a stab
at getting a man to fly -- in this case, Michelangelo, escaping from the Pope
and his minions. It’s a bizarre little plot-twist, but it’s skillfully
executed.
Clearly, the play needs some re-thinking. Fewer
ancillary characters and more wide-ranging actors might make it more majestic,
less small and petty. But there are several fine performances here, and the
story is just too good to ignore. I wish the playwright had let his imagination
fly a little more. But I do think he’s onto something, trying to paint a
portrait of the artists as a young and older man.
©2007 Patté Productions, Inc.
The Vantage Theatre premiere of “The School of the
World,“ runs through June 9 at the Centro Cultural in Balboa Park.