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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Leopoldstadt See Susan's review of A Hanukkah Carol, or Gelt Trip! The Musical
First, the history behind the play. Stoppard was born into a Jewish family in the former Czechoslovakia in 1937, but the family escaped to Singapore ahead of the Nazi occupation. He knew little about his heritage: his father died fairly early and his mother then married a non-Jewish British Army officer. According to the program notes, Stoppard was 57 and visiting Prague when he met a surviving cousin who told him about the extensive losses the family had suffered during the Holocaust. The play takes place in Vienna and covers the years 1899-1955 over the course of three compelling hours. Leopoldstadt is the name of the ghetto in Vienna where Jewish immigrants historically were forced to live, but by 1899 the Merz and Jakobovicz families had assimilated into the outskirts of the upper class, including intermarriages with Christians. (During a festive dinner, one mother notes that her son was baptized and circumcised in the same week.) The anchors of the families are Hermann Merz (Nael Nacer), a successful factory owner with expansive tastes, who converted to Christianity when he married beautiful Gretl (Brenda Meaney), and his brother-in-law Ludwig Jakobovicz (Firdous Bamji), a mathematician determined to prove a theory regarding the sequence of prime numbers and whether it follows any rational pattern. (Stoppard uses this as a parallel to a consideration of the way history moves both forward and back, and if any patterns can be ascertained.) Over the years, as the generations come and go in the elegant home (Ken MacDonald's scenic design focuses on a sumptuous but not gaudy dining room), the family lives through both personal successes and societal threats. In the early years, these comfortably situated people ("the torchbearers for assimilation") question the then-new possibility of Jews leaving their current countries to establish their own state in the Middle East, overseen by the British. By the second act, they realize that a majority of the Austrians they thought had accepted them had supported Adolf Hitler's taking over the Austrian government. With a production this overpowering, it's difficult to point to individual performances, but Nacer is a foundation for the drama as a man who achieves his dreams before seeing them fall apart because of actions he cannot control. Meaney is heartbreaking to watch as she ages from a legendary beauty (a portrait of her becomes important to the plot) to a bedridden woman unable to understand the horrors around her. Leopoldstadt runs through December 29, 2024, at Shakespeare Theatre Company, Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW, Washington DC. For tickets and information, please call 202-547-1122 or 877-487-8849 or visit www.shakespearetheatre.org. By Tom Stoppard Cast: |
