Saturday, 15 September 2007 03:09 pm
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deckardcanineThe first play I ushered this Arena Stage season, last night, was 33 Variations by Moisés Kaufman. The title refers to a project by Beethoven that far exceeded the one variation on publisher Anton Diabelli's waltz that Diabelli requested. He spent years mining the waltz (which he reportedly disliked at first) for all it was worth, to the detriment of his health, his social life, his other musical endeavors, and the economics of himself and those closest to him -- slavish friend Anton Schindler and Diabelli. Clearly he had an extremely high opinion of the importance of music and his own talent, and the final product is popular to this day, but today he would most likely be diagnosed with a mental disorder in those late years.
But the play's main story is about Katherine Brandt, a Beethoven researcher determined to fill in the historical gaps: What made him change his mind, and later, why the hiatus in his activity? Much as Beethoven lost the remainder of his hearing during his work on the variations, Katherine gradually loses her motor skills to Lou Gehrig's disease. Her adult daughter Clara and nurse Mike (who are interested in each other) don't want her to push herself by perusing the sketchbook archives in Bonn, but she's as hostilely and arrogantly stubborn as Beethoven. Part of her resolve may come from the unsavory past between her and Clara. Also involved is German archivist Gertie,
The play is primarily a drama, of course, but it has its funny moments, usually in the form of social, even earthy awkwardness (the house manager issued a warning to parents bringing children under 18). The other thing to like about it, naturally, is the skilled pianist's rendition of the variations themselves. In fact, my family's one complaint was that the action tended to distract from the music. Fixing that would probably require lengthening the play. Would that have been a good idea? Depends whom you ask. I thought two hours plus an intermission felt reasonable, some viewers thought the first act was enough, and at least one critic strangely deemed the play "unfulfilling."
I can't say I loved it -- not enough to see it again like my highly musical mom and sister want -- but this relatively new play merits the honors it's gotten. And as always, Arena found good perfomers.
But the play's main story is about Katherine Brandt, a Beethoven researcher determined to fill in the historical gaps: What made him change his mind, and later, why the hiatus in his activity? Much as Beethoven lost the remainder of his hearing during his work on the variations, Katherine gradually loses her motor skills to Lou Gehrig's disease. Her adult daughter Clara and nurse Mike (who are interested in each other) don't want her to push herself by perusing the sketchbook archives in Bonn, but she's as hostilely and arrogantly stubborn as Beethoven. Part of her resolve may come from the unsavory past between her and Clara. Also involved is German archivist Gertie,
The play is primarily a drama, of course, but it has its funny moments, usually in the form of social, even earthy awkwardness (the house manager issued a warning to parents bringing children under 18). The other thing to like about it, naturally, is the skilled pianist's rendition of the variations themselves. In fact, my family's one complaint was that the action tended to distract from the music. Fixing that would probably require lengthening the play. Would that have been a good idea? Depends whom you ask. I thought two hours plus an intermission felt reasonable, some viewers thought the first act was enough, and at least one critic strangely deemed the play "unfulfilling."
I can't say I loved it -- not enough to see it again like my highly musical mom and sister want -- but this relatively new play merits the honors it's gotten. And as always, Arena found good perfomers.