| Event Date | Saturday, April 6, 2024 |
| End Date | Sunday, May 26, 2024 |
| Name | Stalin's Master Class |
| Address | 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd.Los Angeles, CA 90025 |
| Brief Description | Playwright David Pownall’s wildly comic, music-filled drama |
| Type | Event |
| Category | Theater Events |
| Description | Politics collide with art when “Father of the People” Joseph Stalin and Soviet cultural minister Andrei Zhdanov summon composers Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich to the Kremlin for a vodka-fueled “music lesson.” Odyssey Theatre Ensemble founding artistic director Ron Sossi directs Stalin’s Master Class, a wildly comic, music-filled ride by British playwright David Pownall. Performances run April 6 through May 26, with three low-priced previews April 3 through April 5.
Can artistic expression be forced to conform to political ideology? In this darkly funny satire, Pownall imagines a chilling encounter — the two composers are subjected to the rant and bullying of Stalin and Zhdanov, who accuse the composers of anti-democratic, “formalist” musical tendencies that are alien to the Soviet people and their artistic tastes. “Music that could make a whole population sick!” Post-war Soviet society may be the backdrop for Stalin’s Master Class, but the themes raised about the relationship between art and politics remain universally relevant.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the nature of so-called ‘evil people’,” explains Sossi. “What makes them tick? Do they see themselves as evil, or do they see themselves as doing the right thing? In Master Class, you see a side of Stalin that is very patriotic, a man who wants to resuscitate his country. He wants to get these guys to write music that is more accessible and comforting to the sad survivors of the devastating World War, the children and the old people. The play is very funny, which some might find disturbing, and there’s a lot of great music, all played live. Get ready for a big musical surprise at the end!”
Pownall explained that, in writing Master Class, he wanted to convey the feelings of horror and mockery he felt after reading the minutes of the 1948 Moscow Composers’ Conference held by the Communist party. Although the meeting imagined in the play never actually took place, the composers’ conference and other events make the evening’s goings-on only “too depressingly real.”
Performances of Stalin’s Master Class take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. from April 6 through May 26. There will be two additional weeknight performances, on Wednesday, April 17 and Wednesday, May 15, each at 8 p.m.: Three previews on Wednesday, April 3; Thursday, April 4; and Friday, April 5 also begin at 8 p.m. Post-performance discussions are scheduled on Wednesday, April 17; Friday, April 26; Wednesday, May 15; and Sunday, May 5. Every Friday is “Wine Night”: enjoy complimentary wine and snacks and mingle with the cast after the show.
Tickets to performances range from $20 to $40 on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Performances on Fridays are Pay-What-You-Can (reservations open online and at the door starting at 5:30 p.m.). Previews are priced at $15. The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, 90025
For more information and to purchase tickets, call (310) 477-2055 or go to OdysseyTheatre.com. |
| Phone 1 | (310) 477-2055 |
| Email | boxoffice@odysseytheatre.com |
| Handicapped Accessible | Yes |
| Cost | $20-$40 (Pay-what-you-want Fridays) |
| Website | https://odysseytheatre.com/whats-on/stalins-master-class/ |
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| Last Updated | 3/7/2024 |
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