‘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.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Sharon D. Clarke (center) & cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE
Book & lyrics by Tony Kushner
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Directed by Michael Longhurst
Through January 9, 2022
Studio 54

254 West 54th Street
(212-719-1300), www.RoundaboutTheatre.org


By David NouNou

Topical, controversial and ambitious would be three words to describe Caroline, or Change. It’s a show with a mystique for its devoted fans and a cult following, but it has also had a bumpy road from the onset. The original opened in 2004 at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre with Tonya Pinkins as Caroline and Anika Noni Rose in her Tony-winning role as Emmie, her daughter, and lasted for only 136 performances.

Set in Louisiana in 1963, we first see Caroline, the African-American maid (Sharon D. Clarke), in the basement doing the laundry for the Gellmans, a white Jewish family. She has been working at this job for most of her adult life. She has been dealt a tough hand. In addition to physical abuse, her husband abandoned her and left her with four children to raise. Caroline is a very bitter woman. She can talk and communicate better with inanimate objects than human beings. The objects that have a human form are: a washing machine (Arica Jackson), a dryer (Kevin S. McAllister), and her radio (Nasia Thomas, Nya and Harper Miles).

The one person who does pierce her armor is an eight-year-old boy, Noah Gellman (Adam Makké). Despite her personal feelings, she likes him and tries to protect and guide him. Noah leaves his loose change in his pockets and Caroline finds them and puts them in a laundry cup to return to him. In order to teach Noah the value of money, his stepmother Rose (Cassie Levy) tells Caroline to keep that change and supplement her income with it. This prompts a dilemma for Caroline on whether to keep the money to help her by giving some pocket money to her children or to leave it in the laundry cup.

The topicality of this musical is very pertinent today what with all the racial issues and Judaism, both of which are under attack; putting them together becomes an explosive issue. The message of the story being coexistence, both in 1963 and today.

The show was set to open in 2020, but the pandemic forced it to shut down. In the midst of a pandemic, the nation went reeling with the death of George Floyd and the aftermath of racism sent shockwaves around the world. This makes the message of coexistence in Caroline, or Change that much more pertinent.

The problem of the show isn’t in the message as much as it is in the messaging. The score is unmemorable and the book is so overwrought. Being Jewish myself, I always found the Jewish aspects of the book by Tony Kushner to be cliché to the point of ad nauseam, the language and the Yiddish idioms spoken by the Gellmans at times sound like a TV episode of “The Nanny” with Nanny Fine’s family.

There is a silver lining here: Sharon D. Clarke as Caroline. She originated the role in London in 2018 and she’s sensational. The songs may be unmemorable but the voices in this show are phenomenal.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 3, 2021
Reviewed at November 2, 2021 press performance.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Caissie Levy & Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: (Left to right): Nasia Thomas, Harper Miles, Nya, Arica Jackson, Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Adam Makké & Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Tamika Lawrence & Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Nya, Harper Miles & Nasia Thomas. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Nasia Thomas, Kevin S. McAllister & Sharon D. Clarke. Photo: Joan Marcus.

‘CAROLINE, OR CHANGE’: Nasia Thomas, Kevin S. McAllister, Sharon D. Clarke, Arica Jackson & Harper Miles. Photo: Joan Marcus.

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‘FROZEN’: (left to right) Patti Murin, Caissie Levy & Jacob Smith. Photo: Deen van Meer

FROZEN
Book by Jennifer Lee
Music & lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez
Directed by Michael Grandage
Choreography by Rob Ashford
St. James Theatre
246 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), FrozenTheMusical.com

By David NouNou

Based on Hans Christian Anderson’s The Snow Queen, Disney turned Frozen into the glorious 2013 Oscar-winning animated feature film, containing the beloved Oscar-winning song “Let It Go” sung by Idina Menzel (or, as John Travolta mangled her name at the 2014 Oscars, “Adele Dazime”). The film turned out to be the most profitable and beloved Disney animated feature in many years. So one wonders how could Disney, with all its resources and talent, take something that was so vibrant and full of color and life and turn it into such a drab stage musical?

The easiest thing would have been to take the film and with Disney’s expertise in special effects transpose it, frame by frame, to the Broadway stage. Although that may not have been too original, it would have been a marvelous feat. The story revolves around the two princesses of Arendelle: the older Elsa (Caissie Levy) who possesses magic and has the power to turn everything to ice; and the playful younger one, Anna (Patti Murin) who is at risk of being unintentionally harmed by her older sister. As children, while playing a game one night, Elsa accidentally injures Anna (Anna passes out). She is rescued by her parents who summon the Grand Pabbie (Timothy Hughes) to heal Anna thus altering her mind about what had occurred. The sisters are separated and locked up in different parts of the castle in order to prevent more harm coming to Anna.

With the demise of their parents, Elsa at 21 becomes crowned as Queen of Arendelle. The sisters reunite but no good comes of it. Anna meets Hans (John Riddle) at the coronation ball and immediately falls in love with him. She wants to marry him and asks Elsa for her approval and is denied and accidentally unleashes her powers in front of the court. Elsa flees into the Northern mountains to isolate herself from the world by building a palace of ice. Arendelle is doomed to eternal winter. Anna goes in search of Elsa, gets lost and along the way meets Kristoff (Jelani Alladin) and his reindeer Sven. They encounter the snowman Olaf (Greg Hildreth). Through their bond of friendship and love they pull their resources to find Elsa and to help Anna reconcile with her sister and discover the true meaning of love that thaws out the ice in the heart and the eternal winter.

As with any good fairy tale, the story has to be compelling, hence the huge popularity of the film. The story here is basically the same, but where did it veer off into the doldrums? The two obvious factors are the pedestrian book by Jennifer Lee, who directed and wrote the movie, and secondly the ever-so heavy, leaden direction by Michael Grandage.

In film you can write with broader strokes, so even if a line is not funny or just plain generic, there are visual treats that can mask this flaw. Stage writing has to be succinct and can’t feature sophomoric writing; it becomes cloying. However, the bigger problem here is the direction by Michael Grandage. He is a great British director who has directed such dramas as Art, for which he won a Tony, Frost/Nixon, and The Cripple of Inishmaan. So, it is with great astonishment why Mr. Grandage, best known for dramas, would be chosen as director of a family-oriented, fun Disney musical. What should have been a bright, buoyant musical entertainment just plods and plods through dark, drab and somber moments. The proceedings aren’t helped any by Rob Ashford’s listless and unimaginative choreography. Where is the brilliant and imaginative director/choreographer Casey Nicholaw when you need him? He turned Disney’s Aladdin into one of the most joyous and colorful shows in recent memory.

Ms. Levy and Ms. Murin are in fine voice as Elsa and Anna and do their best with the material they are given. I do hold a soft spot in my heart for Sven, the reindeer and Olaf, the snowman; they conveyed more humanity and reality than the real actors.

This is the one case where Disney could have learned a thing or two from Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob Squarepants, the musical currently on Broadway, directed by Tina Landau and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli. Now there is an original, colorful, buoyant and fun musical to be enjoyed by the whole family.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 22, 2018
Reviewed at March 21, 2018 press preview performance.

‘FROZEN’: Caissie Levy. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘FROZEN’: Patti Murin. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘FROZEN’: Patti Murin & Caissie Levy. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘FROZEN’: Patti Murin. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘FROZEN’: Caissie Levy. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘FROZEN’: Jelani Alladin, Patti Murin & company. Photo: Deen van Meer.

‘FROZEN’: John Riddle, Robert Creighton & cast. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘FROZEN’: Jelani Alladin. Photo: Deen van Meer

‘FROZEN’: The cast. Photo: Deen van Meer

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