‘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.

‘LEOPOLDSTADT’: Joshua Satine. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘LEOPOLDSTADT’: Brandon Uranowitz, Aaron Shuf & David Krumholtz. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘LEOPOLDSTADT’: Faye Castelow & David Krumholtz. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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

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

‘LEOPOLDSTADT’: Japhet Balaban & Eden Epstein. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘LEOPOLDSTADT’: Tedra Millan & Seth Numrich. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘LEOPOLDSTADT’: Reese Bogin, Sara Topham & Ava Michele Hyl. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘LEOPOLDSTADT’: Brandon Uranowitz & Arty Froushan. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘LEOPOLDSTADT’: Jenna Augen & Aaron Neil. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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

The post ‘Leopoldstadt’: Viennese Jewish family’s saga appeared first on StageZine.

‘FALSETTOS’: Christian Borle & Andrew Rannells. Photo: Joan Marcus

FALSETTOS
Book by William Finn
Music & lyrics by William Finn & James Lapine
Directed by James Lapine
Through January 8, 2017
Walter Kerr Theatre
219 W. 48th Street
800-982-2787, www.lct.org

By Scott Harrah

The individual turmoil of characters, their neuroses and raw emotions, sung via melodic songs, are all at the heart of this superb revival of the William Finn-James Lapine musical. Falsettos remains a fresh, authentic slice of unconventional New York life, despite the fact that its characters lived decades ago. It originally appeared on Broadway in 1992 as a package of two earlier off-Broadway plays, March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland. Although parts of this mostly sung-through musical depict the troubles of another era, this outstanding production never feels dated.

Part of the show’s timelessness must be attributed to the stellar performances by a cast of Broadway veterans, but Mr. Finn and Mr. Lapine’s story about Marvin (Christian Borle), a man who wants to have it all (a wife, a child, and a male lover), was truly ahead of its time, written long before marriage equality and tales of nontraditional families became commonplace

The show opens in 1979 with Marvin about to leave his wife Trina (Stephanie J. Block) for a man, Whizzer (Andrew Rannells). Marvin and Trina’s young son Jason (Anthony Rosenthal) is caught in the middle of the maelstrom.  Meanwhile, the family’s psychiatrist Mendel (Brandon Uranowitz) starts a romance with Trina. In addition to the obvious LGBT theme, Falsettos also relies heavily on celebrating the Jewish New Yorker sensibility, particularly in the opening number “Four Jews in a Room Bitching.”  In fact, one of the reasons why the show holds up so well in 2016 is because it’s far more than merely a musical chronicle of a dysfunctional family and homosexuality. Everything from chess playing to Little League baseball is thrown into the mix. David Rockwell’s clever, simplistic sets frame everything wonderfully, with a cartoonish Manhattan skyline and what appears to be a giant 1980s Rubik’s Cube (remember them?) that is gradually taken apart at times to depict different settings.

Much of the narrative unfolds through song, and although Mr. Finn’s music and lyrics are repetitious at times, most songs are infectious and reveal each character’s feelings and frustrations vividly. One of the show’s best moments is Stephanie J. Block belting out the showstopper “I’m Breaking Down,”with lyrics that are humorous but also reveal her heartbreak when she sings, “He’s a queen/I’m a queen/Where is our crown?” 

Other highlights include “Marvin at the Psychiatrist (a Three Part Mini-Opera),” in which Marvin sings (along with Mendel, Jason and Whizzer) about all the reasons he needs psychotherapy.  In “March of the Falsettos,” all four male characters sing, in the titular falsetto voice to match Jason’s prepubescent tone, about the different aspects of masculinity.  Here it’s done cleverly with the guys all sporting fluorescent clothes, frolicking under black light. Pointless perhaps, but still great fun to watch.

While the first act focuses on family dysfunction, Act Two takes us to 1981. Marvin has split up with Whizzer and now lives next door to two lesbians, Dr. Charlotte (Tracie Thoms), an internist, and her lover Cordelia (Betsy Wolfe), a caterer specializing in “nouvelle” kosher cuisine.

Soon Whizzer becomes ill and enters the hospital.  At the same time, Marvin and Trina are nagging Jason about how he wishes to celebrate his bar mitzvah. To give any more detail would spoil the bittersweet twist of the tragic ending, but the final songs are some of the best, including Whizzer’s “You Gotta Die Sometime” and Marvin and Whizzer’s “What Would I Do?”

Mr. Borle makes a big departure here from his comic roles in Peter and the Starcatcher and Something Rotten as the self-absorbed, hopelessly neurotic Marvin.  Mr. Rannells, of Book of Mormon and Girls fame, is equally effective as Whizzer, and emotionally powerful in the show’s final songs.

The show’s biggest asset, however, is Stephanie J. Block.  Although she’s established herself on Broadway in a number of roles, Ms. Block gives the performance of her career as Trina, and she’ll certainly be a contender for all the awards in the spring. There is a haunting sincerity to Ms. Block’s Trina because, in every song she sings, from “I’m Breaking Down” to “Trina’s Song,” one feels her character’s helplessness in everything from her mannerisms (particularly the hilarious way she slices up a banana) to the beautiful, plaintive tone in her vocals.

Director James Lapine understands the scale of tragedy that was so rampant in AIDS-era New York, and his direction highlights the humanity, quirks and vulnerabilities of these characters’ lives and sheds humor and truth on them without coming across as heavy-handed.  Perhaps that’s why Falsettos can now be called a true classic.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 7, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on November 6, 2016

‘FALSETTOS’: (left to right) Betsy Wolfe, Andrew Rannells, Christian Borle & Tracie Thoms. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FALSETTOS’: Stephanie J. Block & Brandon Uranowitz. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FALSETTOS’: Betsy Wolfe & Tracie Thoms. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘FALSETTOS’: Anthony Rosenthal & Christian Borle. Photo: Joan Marcus

The post ‘Falsettos’: The original modern family musical appeared first on StageZine.