Its a fine line between brittle and breakable. Jane Fonda blurs that distinction to memorable effect
Ben Brantley, New York Times
Its a fine line between brittle and breakable. Jane Fonda blurs that distinction to memorable effect
Ben Brantley, New York Times
Why see 33 Variations?
Jane Fonda returns to the stage as a musicologist racing against time to unravel one of Beethoven's towering obsessions as well as her own legacy.
In 1819, fledgling publisher Anton Diabelli commissioned 50 composers to write a variation on a waltz he had created. Beethoven rejected the invitation, dismissing Diabelli's waltz as ordinary. He then obsessively created 33 variations on Diabelli's theme. Why?
Kaufman's play weaves Beethoven's artistic journey with that of Katherine, a musicologist deciphering clues left behind in Beethoven's notebooks and letters and wondering about her own obsession with genius.
Katherine's obsession takes her from present-day New York to 19th century Austria. As the music that consumes Katherine comes to life on stage, she races against time to find common ground with her daughter and to embrace the legacy of her own life.
Oscar & Emmy Award winning Jane Fonda made her Broadway debut in the 1960 play There Was a Little Girl for which she earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured actress. Her last appearance on Broadway was in the 1963 drama Strange Interlude. 33 Variations marks her return to Broadway after 46 years.
Audience: 33 Variations is appropriate for children aged 9;and over. Children under 4 years of age will not be admitted into the Theater.
Run time: 2 hours and 40 minutes with one 15 minute intermission
Key Information
Dates
Finished Mar 6, 2011
Awards
Winner of 2009 Tony Award® for Best Scenic Design of a Play
Reviews
Customer reviews
3 reviews, average rating: (4.3 Stars)
B. Shaver
Fascinating concept
This play will have you thinking long after you leave the theatre. Look for the relationships between Dr. Brandt (Fonda) and Beethoven, their personalities, their personal lives, what is most important in each life. The cast is excellent and Fonda is a trouper....never hogging scenes or trying to upstage another actor...a true ensemble player, just fine acting there. Give a good actress a good role and she knows what to do with it! Please go to see this play and see if you aren't stimulated mentally and moved emotionally as I was.
Hooray for Moises Kaufman and for Jane Fonda & company!
... Read more
B. Shaver
Fascinating concept
This play will have you thinking long after you leave the theatre. Look for the relationships between Dr. Brandt (Fonda) and Beethoven, their personalities, their personal lives, what is most important in each life. The cast is excellent and Fonda is a trouper....never hogging scenes or trying to upstage another actor...a true ensemble player, just fine acting there. Give a good actress a good role and she knows what to do with it! Please go to see this play and see if you aren't stimulated mentally and moved emotionally as I was.
Hooray for Moises Kaufman and for Jane Fonda & company!
... Read more
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