John Malkovich in The Music Critic by Igudesman, Frá (2023/2023), Benaroya Hall, Seattle, United States

John Malkovich stars in The Music Critic, a show in which classical music, theater, and comedy collide. In The Music Critic, Aleksey Igudesman (of the irrepressible classical music comedy duo Igudesman & Joo), has created a witty, satirical mix of the most venomous music critiques of all time, a litany of invective written about some of the greatest composers and the most famous works of music. Armed with this battery of musical insults, legendary actor John Malkovich plays the narrator, slipping effortlessly into the role of the evil critic who believes the music of Beethoven, Chopin, Prokofiev, and their ilk to be weary and dreary. Igudesman and Hyung-ki Joo, along with a host of outstanding musicians, beg to differ. Malkovich’s bravura delivery of this display of back-biting criticism is accompanied by a kaleidoscope of music by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Schumann, Debussy, Prokofiev, Ysaÿe, Kancheli, Piazzolla, and includes music by Igudesman himself.