Local Group Brings “Master Class” by Terrence McNally to the stage in support of The Studio@620.

A group of established local theatre veterans are teaming up to present “Master Class” by Terrence McNally at The Studio@620. Featuring Kathi Grau as Maria Callas, Directed by Alexis Carra-Girbés, with Musical Direction by Bruce LeBaron, the staged production of this Tony Award winning play will benefit The Studio@620. The playwright, Terrence McNally, also was originally a St. Petersburg native, making this show a true local production from top to bottom.
Master Class is a play of fireworks in a contained space where Maria Callas is brought back to life. Inspired by a series of master classes the great diva conducted at Juilliard toward the end of her career, this drama puts Maria Callas at center stage again as she coaxes, prods, and inspires students—”victims” as she calls them—into giving the performances of their lives. As she slips off into memories during her student’s performances, we experience her days at La Scala, her marriage to Meneghini, and her great doomed love affair with Aristotle Onassis. But the dazzling theatricality comes from Callas’s emotional explosions, her cutting wit, and the soaring music as each student sings an aria that exposes the Divina’s vulnerabilities … and her genius.
A preview performance will be held Thursday May 4, 2023 at 8 PM – Admission $20
Opening Night is Friday May 5, 2023 @ 8 PM – Admission $35 / Studio@620 Members $30
Additional performances run Saturday May 6, 2023 @ 8 PM, Sunday May 7, 2023 @ 3 PM, and continue into the following weekend with shows on Thursday-Saturday May 11-13 at 8 PM and Sunday May 14 at 3PM. Admission $35 / Studio@620 Members $30
Tickets available through The Studio@620 website. https://thestudioat620.org/events/master-class-by-terrence-mcnally/
Kathi Grau received her BA in Fine Art from William Woods University, in Fulton MIssouri and her Master’s in Theatrical Directing from The School of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University in Chicago. Kathi was an educator and teacher of the fine and performing arts in Tampa, Atlanta and New Jersey for 40 years. She ran the upper division drama department at Berkeley Preparatory School for 28 years.
She also was a co-founder of Guavaween, a huge celebration of the arts in Ybor city. Kathi played Mama Guava as the spokesperson and hostess of the largest street party in Tampa during its entire inception. She co founded TA-DA, The Tampa Alliance of Dramatic Arts, deemed as Tampa’s Premier Children’s Theatre Company by the Tampa TImes. She also was an actor and director during this time, involved with The Playmakers, Tampa Players, and Stageworks, in the glory days of theatre in Tampa. She met her husband, Bruce LeBaron while doing a show with the Playmakers. They’ve been married for 33 years, still. making art together. Currently she sits on the Board of Creative Pinellas and appears in various programs at the Studio@620, a place near and dear to her heart.