Like Caravaggio’s paintings come to life, the staging of Michelangelo da Caravaggio comes off as a series of tenebrous tableaux beginning and ending the master’s typical actions. Most are so graphic that, although all the dialogue is in Italian and in no way translated into English, much can be understood via visuals. All are either colorful or the result of interplay between light and darkness. The play’s beginning assumes that a woman stabbed Caravaggio fatally. Then he’s shown at the start of a play-long flashback wielding his paintbrush. Caravaggio used it almost like a long knife as he tried to capture on canvas real life scenes. No preparatory sketches. Caravaggio’s often violent actions, especially with the help of his brother and pals, are as quick out of his studios as in them. A tableau staged at the end of an episode typically reproduces one of his known paintings. Some scenes, notably one of an audience with his Pope, are predominantly portrayed only physically and imaginatively. Music provides tone both in scenes and transitions between them. Neither the AACTWorldfest program or many pieces of publicity indicate which actors play which roles. The one who portrays Caravaggio—decisively for the most part—looks like well-known pictures of him, complete with abundant long, dark, curly hair. His male pals often act like a gang, bolstering the tenor of the play. The two women seem less human than types, but the one roughed up by Caravaggio and who later kills him handles her roles well. The women’s period costumes are noteworthy. Maner Manush Company goes well beyond the time limits generally accepted by troupes for AACT Worldfest, though I’ve heard it cut its original time by more than half an hour. What is left is exceptional to look at on a set dominated by three white-framed arches. They’re used like classic stage “houses” and variously lit to imitate Caravaggio’s lighting in his paintings. The play makes one wish to learn more about his real life and see more of his works.
