In the 1740s, seven years into Frederick II’s nearly five-decade rule over Prussia, the king summoned his favorite composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, to his court in Potsdam. The men were opposites: the German musician was a staunch Lutheran who spoke against war; the king was an atheist and a hawk. At court, Frederick attempts to stump the genius. He presents Bach with a difficult musical theme, then orders the composer to create a fugue based on it. The test resulted in The Musical Offering, one of Bach’s most important works. Written by the playwright and actor Oliver Cotton, The Score is based on the true story of the men’s meeting. Brian Cox, the theater actor who recently played the brutal patriarch in Succession, takes the role of Bach, while Matthew Burns is Frederick II. —Jensen Davis