'Leopoldstadt': Viennese Jewish family's saga

‘LEOPOLDSTADT’: The company. Photo: Joan Marcus.

LEOPOLDSTADT
Written by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Patrick Marber
Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
New York, NY
(212-239-6200), www.Leopoldstadtplay.com

By David NouNou

Leopoldstadt is an epic generational saga. It’s a semi-autobiographical play tracing playwright Tom Stoppard’s family tree. Not to sound pretentious, but honestly speaking, almost any Stoppard play is a Broadway theatrical event. Some of them are verbose, from Arcadia to Coast of Utopia. It is great to see that this time he has tapped into something that is very personal to him. Is it perfect? No. Is it too talky? At times. Does it feel real? Always.

It is Christmas Eve in 1899 Vienna in the Jewish quarter on Leopoldstadt, where an extended upper-class Jewish family is celebrating Christmas and lighting a Christmas tree. This particular family has some members that have branched out into marrying outside the faith and assimilating to the values in Vienna at that time. The household is headed by Grandma Emilia (Betsy Aidem), still a Jew, her son Hermann (David Krumholtz), distancing himself from Judaism and marrying a Christian, Gretl (Faye Castelow), Emilia’s daughter, Eva (Caissie Levy) married to Ludwig (Brandon Uranowitz) both still Jewish. The extended family being Ludwig’s brother and sister. All Jews with the exception of Hermann and Gretl, but they dominate the force in the family. The long-winded concept here is whether remaining a Jew and boasting of the heritage that has given Vienna its artists, thinkers, doctors and luminaries or changing your religious beliefs and enjoy the freedoms afforded one by being a non-Jew.

In 1900, Gretl is having an affair with a Viennese dragoon, Fritz (Arty Froushan) just to get a feel of what it’s like being with a Christian again and to make the viewer wonder if the family tree was extended even further.

Soon it is 1924. The next generation is in the forefront, headed by Hermann and Gretl’s son, Jacob (Seth Numrich) who is really more secular and disillusioned by life and things aren’t as flourishing as they were earlier. Things are beginning to get tougher for the Jews like Hermann and Ludwig and their extended families. Austria is turning its back on the Jews.

The story moves forward to 1938. Kristallnacht has the grandchildren witnessing their parents and grandparents being turned in by their fellow Austrians and neighbors to be persecuted, attacked, arrested, having their home and properties seized, separated from each other and sent to concentration camps.

In 1955, back in the same living room in Vienna, Nathan, great-grandnephew of Ludwig and Eva (Brandon Uranowitz), has returned to gather the family album and recall his ancestors to Leo (Arty Froushan), an Englishman, who in fact is the grandson of Ludwig and Eva but was transported to England in 1938 as a child by his parents and doesn’t recall his Jewish background. Leo never knew anything about Judaism, his family tree or that Nathan in fact is his cousin. Nathan is aided by his aunt Rosa (Jenna Augen) to recall the family tree, and it is she that announces the outcome of each member in the family tree.

The play overall is beautifully structured but it is the last scene, in 1955, stripped of any verboseness, that just sticks to the basics. Be prepared to get out the handkerchiefs. One can’t help but compare this to the brilliant generational epic The Lehman Trilogy where three stars played over a hundred roles and each was clearly defined. In Leopoldstadt, there are so many extended family members that it is hard to conceptualize who begat whom and to put them in order in each of the scenes. Before each scene, a scrim is revealed to show the family tree and the begats, but by the time you put the jigsaw together, the scrim is gone and you start all over again.

This is an epic ensemble acting company consisting of original British actors from the West End intermingled with American actors. For the most part, the acting is good but can hit on stereotypes. However, three-time Tony nominee, Brandon Uranowitz—who is equally adept at musicals, comedy or drama—is the star of the piece and has finally landed a star-making role. His dual roles as Ludwig and Nathan are separate characters that are both intriguing and heartbreaking, and the life he breathes into each of them is brilliant.

Patrick Marber, a wonderful British director and screenwriter, has the difficult, formidable task of navigating a huge cast that includes many children, different generations, and trying to give cohesion to an epic generational saga. His insights and Mr. Stoppard’s words give great depth to the proceedings and makes it a memorable theatrical experience.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 8, 2022
Reviewed at October 7, 2022 press performance.