MUCH like the fictional string quartet that is its subject, Michael Hollinger’s drama “Opus” plays all of its notes with an utmost precision and delicacy. This portrait of the personal and professional interactions among a group of musicians is so entertaining and insightful that you’ll never quite listen to a chamber music group the same way again.
The play, being presented by Primary Stages, concerns the Lazara String Quartet, which has just fired one of its members. Desperate to find a replacement because of an impending performance at the White House, they quickly hire Grace (Mahira Kakkar), a brilliantly talented if socially awkward young woman who wows them with her audition of a Bartok piece.
As the players rehearse the challenging Beethoven opus that they’ve selected for their White House gig, it soon becomes clear that the members are not always in perfect harmony. The former viola player, Dorian (Michael Laurence), disappeared after, as he puts it, “going buggy.” His lover Elliot (David Beach) is domineering and irascible; family man Carl (Douglas Rees) is seriously ill; and the divorced Alan (Richard Topol) appears to be taking a shine to his new colleague.
While these personal interactions are moderately interesting, it’s the insights into the music-making process that give the play its fascination. Whether the characters are considering the merits of a prospective member (“He doesn’t make music, he extrudes notes,” sniffs Elliot), caressing a vintage violin as if were a lover’s body, or debating about how exactly a piece should be played (“If Beethoven wanted a crescendo in bar eight, he would have put it there”), the writing displays an authenticity that was no doubt garnered by the playwright’s own youthful experiences as a chamber musician.
Director Terrence J. Nolen has elicited excellent performances from the five-person ensemble, who more than convincingly mime playing their instruments to recorded music.
OPUS 59E59 Theaters, 59 E. 59th St.; (212) 279-4200. Through Sept. 1.