<div dir="ltr"><br><br><span style="color:rgb(0,255,0)">••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••</span><br><br><p><b>Beethoven and ALS cross paths in the thought-provoking 33 VARIATIONS at Beck</b><br><br>Roy Berko<br>
(Member, American Theatre Critics Association, Cleveland Critics Circle)<br><br>One
of the major questions musicologists have asked for years is why the
brilliant Ludwig van Beethoven devoted four years of his life to writing
33 variations of what is considered to be a very mediocre waltz by
Anton Diabelli. <br><br>Answers range from Beethoven’s need for money,
that he perceived that the waltz piece was musically greater than it
was credited with being, that he wanted to out-do Bach, who wrote The
Goldberg Variations which numbered 30, or, that as his hearing moved
toward deafness he wanted to create a piece that would be forever
remembered.<br><br>ALS, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is a progressive
degenerative illness that affects the nerve cells in the brain and
spinal cord, and eventually leads to whole body paralysis. It is often
referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, named after the great New York
Yankee who brought world attention to the illness when he retired from
baseball after contracting the sickness.<br><br>What do Beethoven and
ALS have in common? They are joint topics of Moisés Kaufman’s poignant
33 VARIATIONS, now on stage at Beck Center for the Arts. <br><br>The
script examines the creative process, the differences between obsessive
and non-focused minds, how illness affects people, what the differences
are between friendship and love, how the past and present can overlap,
the meaning of genius, and how making variations in either music or life
can bring about awakenings.<br><br>The story examines how Beethoven, in
his later life, created a major musical masterpiece, and the journey of
Katherine Brandt, a musicologist, as she attempts to discover why
Beethoven was so possessed with writing The Diabelli Variations.<br><br>We
simultaneously view Beethoven losing his hearing, losing his
rationality, and Brandt’s desire to complete her work before ALS freezes
her body and eventually kills her.<br><br>Using a creative format,
Kaufman creates parallel and overlapping universes. We are in Vienna,
Austria, in 1819 and again in 1823, and simultaneously in New York and
Germany in the present. Beethoven is stressfully creating music, Brandt
is researching and writing what will be her last position paper, using
information from Bonn’s Library, which is the major depository of
Beethoven’s papers, letters, diaries and manuscripts.<br><br>Beethoven
struggles to write and cope with his problems, Brandt struggles to not
only find an answer to why Beethoven undertook to write the 33
variations, but to work out problems with her daughter and face
inevitable death. In an emotionally charged final scene, we learn
whether Brandt was successful in solving the Beethoven riddle.<br><br>The
play opened in New York in 2009 with Jane Fonda portraying Katherine,
in her first Broadway appearance in forty-six years. Both the play and
Fonda received Tony nominations.<br><br>The Beck production, under the
focused direction of Sarah May, is creatively staged. Seeing several
different places at once allows for the hundred year time variance, and
creates an intriguing effect.<br><br>The acting is universally strong.
Each performer creates a clearly identifiable person. Dana Hart rants
and rages as Beethoven. He crawls under the piano, ear against a leg of
the instrument, so that his body can vibrate to the feel of the piano,
because his deafness disallows for his hearing the music he has
fashioned. He clearly creates irrationality as he castigates Anton, his
ever vigilant assistant, while being dependent on the man.<br><br>Maryann
Nagel withers before our eyes as her ALS attacks Katherine’s body. She
puts down Clara, her daughter, for not being focused, but suffers
because of her obsessive nature. Her fight for completion of her goal
of determining Beethoven’s motives is clearly etched.<br><br>Debbie
Keppler’s Clara is a nicely developed character, as is Matt O’Shea’s
Mike, Katherine’s nurse and Clara’s socially awkward boyfriend. Dr.
Gertrude Ladenburger, the curator of the Beethoven memorabilia
collection, who, at the start reluctantly helps Katherine, is clearly
created by Mary Alice Beck. Both Brian Pedaci (Anton Disabelli) and
Trey Gilpin (Anton Schindler) nicely portray their characters.<br><br>Pianist Stuart Raleigh interprets and performs the selected variations with strong musical ability. <br><br>Trad
Burns simple set, which is nicely fleshed out by Ian Hinz’s scene
setting projections, works well. Angelina Herin’s costumes clearly
delineate each character’s era.<br><br>As my pianist and composer
grandson, Alex, one of the kid reviewers who often accompany me a play
in order to give a different generational view of the offering,
commented, “The play held my attention, while teaching me new insights
into Beethoven, and how variations can not only be a part of music, but
also make for alterations in life.” He praised Raleigh for not only
playing well, but for being able to sustain the quality while performing
such a long and fragmented composition.<br><br><i>CAPSULE JUDGEMENT:
33 VARIATIONS is an intriguing theatrical experience. The well written
script is effectively interpreted by director Sarah May and well
performed by an excellent cast. You don’t have to know anything about
music, Beethoven, or the research process to enjoy the multi-messaged
work. You should leave with a new appreciation of the musical process,
gain an understanding of ALC, and be aware of the fragility of life’s
journey.</i></p><br> 33VARIATIONS is scheduled to run through
NOVEMBER 17 at Beck Center for the Arts. For tickets and information
call 216-521-2540 or <a href="http://www.beckcenter.org">http://www.beckcenter.org</a> <br><br><span style="color:rgb(0,255,0)">•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••</span><br><br><br></div>