Whether or not you are among the legions of listeners enthralled by the voice of Maria Callas, you can't help but be enthralled by 2nd Story Theatre's production of "Master Class."

The play centers on a series of master classes the opera star conducted at Juilliard in 1971, but from the specific comes a broader story of talent, ambition, ego - and unlikely vulnerability.

It's an engrossing character study that unfolds in playwright Terrence McNally's concise and insightful script, past under Ed Shea's no-detail-ignored direction, right down to the calla - Callas? - lilies on a piano.

We know we're dealing with a diva the moment the play begins. Callas comes on scene demanding different lighting, a footstool and a pillow - previously requested, she notes pointedly - and asking for her first "victim," her word for the student she will critique.

The playwright has an equally observant eye for the three students, two sopranos with varying degrees of nervousness, and a joking tenor. They're tools to help express Callas' personality, but they also have personalities themselves.

The focus, however, is on Callas, and over the next 90 minutes, McNally explores events that shaped this woman's persona, from her over-weight and overlooked childhood to her triumphs on stage; from her first marriage to a wealthy man she didn't love to her obsession with the man she did, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis; and most importantly, her approach to her art.

A note is not just a note, says McNally's Callas, "It's a stab of pain." The audience is "the enemy," whom she conquers with her singing, and a spectacular performance is "my triumph. I won. Again."

Some comments are made to the students and some are directly to the audience, making us part of the master class. But the diva gets caught up in her thoughts as she recalls parts of her life or replays performances in her head. As recordings play, Callas gives us the operatic play-by-play, her words drawing us into the music and the emotion.

Gloria Crist, as Callas is in the spotlight the entire time, and she is mesmerizing.

The dominating stage presence is just the start of her immersion in her character. She doesn't sing, but her emotional pitch is perfect.

The "victims" do sing, and 2nd Story found three real-life theater/vocal students to play the parts.

Stephanie Morgan is a 2011 graduate of the University of Rhode Island.

Jacqueline Pina is a Rhode Island College graduate - who studies with Metropolitan Opera soprano Maria Spacgna, a Rhode Islander familiar to area audiences.

Josh Christensen is a senior at URI majoring in theater.

All three are colorful and, obviously, authentic.

Bob Colonna has a brief but unforgettable scene as the crude, insulting Onassis, appearing on stage as a figure in Callas memory.

He makes us squirm, and McNally leaves it to us to speculate on what attracted Callas to him.

The set is a realistic practice room, complete with piano and a self-effacing accompanist, Charlie Elder.

The bright lighting on stage is as unforgiving as the diva most of the time, but dims except for a spotlight, a literal one this time, on Crist when Callas is transported by her memories - all very effective.

The whole package, from script to execution, is visually, mentally and emotionally engaging.

That's what theater is all about, and this "Master Class" is masterful.

2nd Story Theatre's production of Master Class, Terrence McNally's Tony-winning play set in a Julliard classroom with opera legend Maria Callas as the instructor, is compelling, profound, and even funny, complete with a tour de force performance from its lead actress.

"La Divina" Maria Callas was arguably the most renowned opera singer of her day, if not for her voice alone, then for her fiery temperament, as well as her life off-stage -- most notably, with fellow Greek Aristotle Onassis. Playwright McNally was inspired to write "Master Class" after hearing excerpts from Julliard lectures led by Callas, whose voice by then had long since given out on her.

Gloria Crist, in a breathtaking, magnificent portrayal, enters the stage and faces her audience of students. Maria shuns any applause, insists this is not about her and professes to be invisible.

Yet the aspiring singers who have come to be critiqued by one of the greats are unwittingly invited to join Maria for a walk down the memory lane of her life and career. For good measure, the diva hurls insults, tests them on how well they know the material and remind them that everything they need to succeed is already there in the music.

There isn't much of a plot, but Maria is a force to be reckoned with, and her presence alone is its own drama. Her students (whom she labels as "victims"), as well as the audience, slowly come to learn how little pleasure Maria experienced outside of her time on stage.

Throughout the class, Maria shares the stages with an accompanist, Manny (Charles Elder), in addition to two sopranos, Sophie (Stephanie Morgan) and Sharon (Jacqueline Pina), and a tenor, Tony (Josh Christensen). Each delivers a fine performance, especially Pina, whose vocal talent is especially apparent.

Maria's lover, Onassis (a spot-on Bob Colonna), even makes an appearance during a memory sequence. But this show belongs entirely to Crist, who beautifully conveys Maria's iron-like exterior, until the culmination of both acts when the music takes her back to a more fulfilling, albeit vulnerable, time in her life.

One need not be an opera fan to appreciate this production, directed with precision by Ed Shea. The academic atmosphere is both inviting and intriguing, a testament to Trevor Elliot's superb set design.

Having recently seen the revival of "Master Class" on Broadway, I was concerned I might have been too easily influenced. No matter, because 2nd Story Theatre's production is nearly just as impressive.

To some, Maria Callas was the last word in opera. But in Terrence McNally's loving, but unvarnished portrait of the legendary diva, his 1996 Tony-winning "Master Class" now at Warren's 2nd Story Theatre, Callas comes across as painfully complicated -- a great artist, to be sure, but also a woman driven by unbridled ambition and a touch of self-loathing. She sang like an angel, but could be petty, small and vain.

When talk turns to a fellow singer, McNally's Callas says she is not one to talk about colleagues. And besides, the singer in question "tried her best."

The play, which is up through Sept. 3, was inspired by a series of master classes Callas gave at Juilliard in 1971, and it is essentially a one-person show, save for a few minor roles assigned to a piano accompanist and three "victims," who learn lessons about more than just singing in their brief encounter with Callas.

The show is sharp, clever, and insightful, as funny as it is poignant. And it holds together wonderfully, thanks to a riveting performance from local actress Gloria Crist as La Divina herself. Crist is a smallish woman, but she takes total command of the stage, from her initial carping about the lights in the hall, the heat and the fact that someone forgot the pillow for her chair, to her reliving her greatest triumphs in vivid flashbacks.

It doesn't hurt either that Crist looks a lot like the singer, with her dark hair and intense eyes. She doesn't sing in the show, but rather talks her way through arias with great flair and drama, as Callas' recordings are heard in background.

Director Ed Shea deserves credit for fleshing out the production by casting Bob Colonna as a foul-mouthed Aristotle Onassis, Callas' long-time lover. In the original play, Ari doesn't actually appear; his lines are spoken by the actress playing Callas, as she dreams about her time with the shipping tycoon. But Shea felt Onassis' vulgar language was too crude to be spoken by a woman, and brought in Colonna, who glides about the stage in dark glasses looking like an unwelcome apparition. It's one of the richer moments of the evening.

McNally's Callas can be brusque, even brutal when it comes to the students who have gathered to learn from her. "I'm not hearing consonants," she tells a young soprano played by Stephanie Morgan. "She's singing in Sanskrit."

And when a second singer is so intimidated by an overbearing Callas that she retreats to the restroom, Crist's Callas explains that "feelings like Sharon's, we use them. We don't give them away on some voodoo witch doctor's couch."

Joining Morgan as voice students are tenor Josh Christensen and soprano Jacqueline Pina, as the singer who disappeared after Callas chided her for being overdressed. Pina, perhaps the best voice on stage, did a nice job recovering her sense of poise, and in the end, giving Callas a piece of her mind, telling her she's washed up, not to mention unpleasant.

Charles Elder plays Manny the accompanist, who has but a few inconsequential lines.

Perhaps the show's biggest surprise, though, is the set and the theater's reconfigured second-floor performance space. Rather than stick with seating in the round, which has been the tradition at 2nd Story for the past decade, Shea has opted for a proscenium and an impressive set that replicates a small, paneled concert hall. There is even a glistening baby grand on hand.

The new thrust staging is the look of the future, according to Shea, who said in a release that he is out to earn a reputation for "picture-perfect sets that transport an audience to a new theatrical reality." Stay tuned.

As for "Master Class," it's an amazing character study, a probing look at a great star that is far more than skin deep. McNally's Callas can be irritating and boastful, but there's something sad about her struggle to succeed at any cost, to show the world that she was no longer the fat kid in school with the bad skin and thick glasses. She was so in touch with the emotional wishes of composers, but unable to connect in some ways with the feelings that made her tick.

As Colonna's Onassis says, "You're not a singer, you're a freak. What people really want to know is what we do in bed. Two Greeks."

2nd Story Theater in Warren will present "Master Class," Terrence McNally's tribute to the legendary opera diva, Maria Callas, through September 3.

Inspired by a series of master classes Callas conducted at Julliard in 1971, this Tony Award-winning play returns la divina to center stage where she coaxes, prods and inspires her 'victims' into giving the performance of their lives, while she regales us with secrets - professional and personal - of her own.

Gloria Crist stars in the show as Callas. The cast also features Stephanie Morgan, Jacqueline Pena, Joshua Christensen, Charlie Elder, and Craig Canario.

"Maria Callas really changed the face and shape of opera," Crist told EDGE. "She had this wonderful stunning gift of a voice that also had that special something that no one can ever define. She kind of turned opera on its ear because she started performing these passionate stunning melodies."

The role of Maria Callas held a special appeal to Crist: "I am Greek and as an actor I have always played everything but a Greek. "It's nice to play someone who is close to my age and close to my heritage. (Maria) talks so much about courage and determination and dominating the process of art. That to me is extremely interesting. It's epic and it's tragic and it's absolutely stunning theatre."

Crist has been working as a professional actor, singer and director for 23 years. Her theater credits include off Broadway, Radio City Music Hall and Perishable Theater's "Sweet Disaster and Biography of a Constellation," and "The Late Christopher Bean" and "The Good Doctor" at 2nd Story Theatre.

She began her long career in the 1980s after catching a performance of "A Chorus Line" on Broadway.

"I looked to my mother and said that's what I want to do," Crist recalled.

A year later, Crist was cast as Diana Morales in a regional production of the show.

In addition to acting in film and television, Crist also teaches acting.

Being on a stage is a thrilling experience for the actress.

"I love telling stories. I love the connection that happens between a performer and the audience. ("Master Class") is the culmination of what I do as a woman and someone who still loves what she does," Crist added.

Now playing at 2nd Story Theater in Warren is "Master Class," Terrance McNally's acclaimed show about legendary opera diva Maria Callas.

The grandest of arias in an opera can encompass a lot in a concise and enchanting chunk of time, running the gamut of emotions while lifting the listener's soul to soaring heights. And watching this play is rather like that; it's at once an intimate portrait of a legend, a primer on the fine points of performance and a moving meditation on the meaning and importance of art.

The play takes place in 1971 when Maria Callas agreed to teach a series of voice lessons in New York. The 2nd Story stage is transformed into a classroom and we (the audience) are the students. Don't worry, though the diva speaks directly to the audience, you won't be called upon to sing. A trio of young singers - Stephanie Morgan, Jacqueline Pena and Joshua Christensen - do the honors. All are students or recent graduates from Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island, have considerable vocal chops and handle their arias adroitly.

The experience of watching a play in which a master artist imparts wisdom to those who seek to hone their craft is about the next-best thing to actually being in a play directed by 2nd Story's own maestro, Ed Shea. This notion of mine was reinforced at a rehearsal I recently attended.

At the outset of "Master Class" Maria Callas sweeps grandly into the classroom, owning every square inch of the space, knowing full well that specificity is what becomes a legend most. She asks that the lights be adjusted, as the room is too bright. She requested a cushion - where is it? She needs to sit properly - where is the footstool? In order to create art an exacting sense of order must be maintained.

"I'm trusting absolutely nothing to chance!" declares Mr. Shea as he has a light cue adjusted to have the grand piano lit to the specific luminosity he requires. His eye for detail misses nothing during a rehearsal, even fastening upon what the correct color of an admirer's envelope nestled in a vase upon the diva's piano should be. Mr. Shea has changed the blocking over the weekend and for the benefit of his diva he stalks the stage again and again to demonstrate with absolute accuracy the new nimble motions necessary. It takes precise mechanics to create for an audience a sense of practiced ease.

Ever the perfectionist, Mr. Shea never stops working on a given production, retooling and making decisions and revisions through the first opening previews and right up to opening night. He knows that the rewards for these efforts are worth it and after 10 successful seasons in Warren, 2nd Story's audience has come to expect the very best.

Similarly, though Maria may seem callous and obdurate to her students, she demands the very best because high art will have no less. A young tenor is content to merely hit the right notes; she would have him remember the character's mood and motivation as well. A grand opera performance must consist of domination, collaboration and knowing and then utilizing all of one's assets, she reminds him. Forget one bit of the precise equation and it all falls flat.

Tiverton's Gloria Crist, a 2nd Story regular, plays Callas with passion and panache. Those qualities come seemingly naturally to her, as anyone who has seen her on stage will attest, but I've never known her to have a diva's petulance. So, as I asked her recently: How do you solve a problem like Maria? Is it daunting?

"It's not daunting in the least," Gloria replies. "It's a bit freeing. I have chosen to take the approach of a woman who knows what she wants and will stop at nothing to get it. Playing and researching this role has given me a new sense of strength and a deeper appreciation of what we do as artists. And Maria and I are both Greek! For the first time in my film and theater career I am a Greek playing a Greek - and a fiery one at that!"

So what becomes a legend most? "Character. And how you treat others. Fame is a vapor. Talent comes and goes. In the end we are defined by how we took what was in front of us and dealt with it. We are defined by character." That's not bad advice in life and in art and exactly the sort of wisdom the imposing grande dame would want to impart upon her students.

Serving as an anchor for Callas and a linchpin of sorts for the audience is the presence of the "Master Class" pianist, who is on stage throughout the action. An unspoken role for the most part, the accompanist here is sort of the silent eye of the storm and stress that seems to surround Callas. Barrington's Charley Elder plays him and the piano with assured authority.

Though this is his first appearance at 2nd Story, Mr. Elder played piano for 2nd Story's Downstairs Cabaret back in 2004 and 2005 and serves as the organist and choir director for St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Barrington.

At the rehearsal I noted a great sense of familiarity between the diva and her pianist - an unspoken bond between the two seemingly forged by over a lifetime, his calm vigilance at the keys matching her sheer dominance.

"I think any good diva always has a fabulous accompanist in her pocket," quips Ms. Crist, singing the praises of Mr. Elder. "Any good master class has a pianist who knows music up one side and down the other. Charley is a dear and knows his music so, so well!"

Speaking of masters with a lot of class, Rhode Island's own stage legend Bob Colonna completes the cast as Aristotle Onassis, with whom Callas had a long and tempestuous affair. He states that this play is "unique, as it provides an inside look at the feelings and behavior of a remarkable woman."

And a remarkable artist as well. Filled with wonderful music, the play provides an in-depth portrait of one of the great artists of our times. Callas was fearless on stage and off, a true innovator who managed not only to break all the conventional rules, but to forge new ones, too. In great tradition of both grand opera and 2nd Story Theatre, "Master Class" aims to hit all the high notes as well as all the right notes.

2nd Story Theatre director Ed Shea gives us a masterful play with masterful performances in his reconfigured Warren theatre.

Long an advocate of theatre-in-the-round, Shea chose two plays this summer that didn't fit comfortably into that venue.

A proscenium stage was constructed for "Speech and Debate", and reconstructed for Terrance McNally's Tony Award-winning play about opera diva Maria Callas.

The success of "Master Class" depends on the interpretation of the role of Callas, and Shea found the perfect actress in Gloria Crist who becomes Maria Callas for the hour and forty-five minutes she is on stage.

The audience is literally watching a master class led by Callas, as she teaches, torments, and intimidates three students.

There is no doubt who is in control from the time she makes her grand entrance, as she complains about the temperature, equipment and service.

On stage are a piano and pianist (Charles Elder) and her director's chair. "Where's the pillow I asked for? And my stool?")

She tells the audience that she barks, but doesn't bite, and ironically points out that "This isn't about me."

But it is about her, the brilliant singer with all of her insecurities and baggage.

She intimidates her students to the point of one rushing off stage, interrupting at every turn, giving subtle put-downs, and telling them "The audience is the enemy. Make them beg."

The students don't know how to react, and all three react differently as she rants and raves, and slips into her past.

At one point she is "visited" by her former lover (You'll recognize the bigger-than-life famous person) and relives moments of stress in her private life. Bob Colonna is only on stage for a few minutes, but his presence is important and captivating.

There is humor in this often poignant look at a complex artist who no longer performs, but still can't let go of her stardom.

Crist is magnificent as Callas, in control of her "Master Class", the students, and the audience.

There is no question that this is her show, and it is made better by the three singers, all who give us short samples (as they are constantly interrupted) of their vocal abilities.

Brava/Bravo to Stephanie Morgan, Jacqueline Pina, and Josh Christensen.

Even stagehand Craig Canario has his moments.

Although Callas/Crist doesn't sing,in the background at times we hear the incredible voice of the diva.

Callas actually conducted a series of master classes at Juilliard in 1971.

While I doubt the classes went like this, the well written, directed, and acted play gives you a great insight into the personality of this complicated, opinionated and talented artist.

At 2nd Story these nights there's a whole new look. Artistic leader Ed Shea has bolted from his years-long theater-in-the-round motif. Audience members once again, sit facing the stage. The proscenium is back. And it's welcome.

But Shea, the speediest of directors, has not abandoned his almost frantic style. Or his kind of play. He's chosen to inaugurate the new setting with "Master Class," Terrence McNally's engrossing, coruscating look at the wreckage of the career of Maria Callas, that diva of divas.

((SOUND-Callas in full voice singing Bellini's aria "Casta Diva" from "Norma."))

Yes, that's Callas singing the aria "Casta Diva" from "Norma" by Bellini. It is a moment among so many that gives you an understanding of why millions of opera fans saw Callas as the pre-eminent diva of the last half of the 20th century.

But in 1995's "Master Class" McNally, author of "Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune" and "The Full Monty," has chosen to see the singer in decline. She's teaching at the Juiliard School in New York. Or rather make that "terrorizing." Her students stand in frozen fear before her.

"Master Class" is a play about why Callas was Callas. It looks in on her worst professional period. She's been abandoned by both her vibrant singing voice and the love of her life, Aristotle Onassis, who has unceremoniously dumped her, for Jacqueline Kennedy.

While she may be running on fumes and memories, she hides all that with a kind of sophisticated nastiness. The students, poor things, often don't get more than a syllable of an aria going before she interrupts with caustic advice. When the great lady mentions any of her fellow sopranos, such as Joan Sutherland, she says, sweetly, well, "She did her best." And later adds: "How can you have rivals when no one can do what you can do?"

A great opera fan, McNally weaves in the Callas cavalcade. Born in New York City, she was raised in Greece, suffered under the German occupation in World War II, feuded with her family, was driven by need, both financial and emotional, and later became a caricature of the prima donna.

It's quite a story and 2nd Story's cast tells it well. Gloria Crist looks uncannily like the diva, hair long, black and thick, lips red as sunset, eyes flashing. She manages to show you arrogance and humility, great success and great neediness. A bravura performance. The little girl is there inside of the world-famous artist.

The support is there, too. Charles Elder is a quietly competent pianist.

The pair of sopranos ransacked by the diva are wonderfully played by Stephanie Morgan and Jacqueline Pina. You can watch them crumble under the Callas onslaught. But you also see them learn something about both singing and toughness. The tenor, played with American boyish feistiness by Josh Christensen, fights back more and is funny doing it.

Then there's that great veteran, Bob Colonna, as Onassis. He turns the Greek multi-millionaire into a hilarious bastard, matching, and over-riding, Callas, ego moment for ego moment.

((SOUND under: Callas "Casta Diva."))

So, there are changes at 2nd Story, a new look. But the work remains the same. Take a good story, and run with it.

Maria Callas, you think, would approve.