Mona Golubek

Jura is played by Golubek, Jura's daughter and a concert pianist herself. This 115 minute one-woman show includes, in addition to Golubek's compelling storytelling, a good share of performance of classic favorites like Debussy's "Clair de Lune" and Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata." Comparisons to other stories of the Holocaust are irresistible—the teenage heroine reminds us of the story of Anne Frank, its description of the Battle of Britain through a young person's eyes recalls the 1987 film Hope of Glory, it has the picaresque structure of Europa, Europa and of course there was the even more celebrated Roman Polanski film The Pianist which won an Oscar for Adrien Brody. The Pianist of Willesden Lane deserves its place among those, but has a place all its own. It's uncompromising in its depiction of the Holocaust, but it's uplifting in its tale of the plucky young girl who survived the war apart from her parents and in its demonstration of the power of art to bring us through the darkest of times.

The story begins when Lisa is told by her piano instructor that the Nazis will not allow him to teach her. Soon after her father is beaten during the Kristallnacht, he wins one ticket for a place on the Kindertransport train to London and Lisa is chosen by her parents over her two sisters to make the journey. She's greeted in London by the distant cousin who is to take her in, but the cousin quickly informs her that he is evacuating his family outside London to avoid the bombing and won't have room for her. He directs her back to the agency coordinating the Kindertransport and her life takes a sort of Dickensian twist before she arrives at an orphanage on the titular Willesden Lane. It would spoil the story to give away any more of the story's twists, but there are many. Felder's script keeps surprising and taking us to unexpected places every time we think we may know what's next. Through the events of the years from 1938 through 1945, the beauty of music and the strength and kindness of the Londoners prove powerful forces for survival.

Golubek's moving dramatic performance and virtuoso piano are placed in a handsome production design. Scenic designers Trevor Hay (who was also associate director) and David Buess have created an elegant picture frame for the proscenium, and that theme is extended into three framed screens onto which historical photos are projected (Greg Sowizdral and Andrew Wilder designed the projections). The piece is beautifully lit by Chris Rynne, and Erik Carstensen's sound design provides perfect clarity of both speech and piano.

The strength of this story—initially horrifying but ultimately uplifting and possessing a gentle sense of humor—would make it a good candidate for a film version, and the strength of the play's visual design indeed brings a cinematic feel to this one-woman show. I wouldn't be surprised to see a film version happen—and I hope some movie moguls caught this show when it premiered at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles last year. Audiences shouldn't wait for a movie, though, as there will be nothing like the experience of seeing the story as it's told live by Jura's daughter Mona Golubek.

The Pianist of Willesden Lane will play the Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted St., Chicago, through Sunday, May 12, 2013. Tickets are on sale at the box office, online at www.theroyalgeorgetheatre.com or by phone at 312-988-9000.

Photo: Eighty Eight Productions

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-- John Olson