As ‘Amadeus’ enters its final weekend, a chance to converse with the talented duo playing the major roles

By Donald Munro

When Mark Standriff and Nico DiViccaro take the stage tonight (Thursday, Feb. 15) in “Amadeus” at the 2nd Space Theatre, there will be just four more opportunities to see them battle it out as Salieri and Mozart.

And what a battle it is. This production became a buzzworthy community theater event over the course of its run. People would come up to me and ask: “Have you seen Mark in ‘Amadeus’?”

Heather Parish reviewed the show very positively for The Munro Review. I saw it a few weeks later and decided to do one more piece on it before it closes. (Which is does on Sunday, Feb. 18.) I asked Standriff and DiViccaro to meet me online for a Zoom discussion. (Here’s a playback tip: You can play the YouTube conversation through your speakers as a podcast.)

We ended up having a fascinating conversation that touches upon everything from the price of genius to the nipples of Venus. (Find out how much sugar Standriff ingests during a show!) Plus: DiViccaro tells us how he giggles on command, Standriff describes what it’s like to be onstage for all but two minutes of a three-hour show, and how does someone manage to memorize all those lines? Best of all, we get a sense of the special chemistry that has developed between a seasoned actor near retirement age — someone who left the hard life of a professional actor behind in favor of a more stable family life — and a young college actor with stars in his eyes. Enjoy: