Interview with Broadway Actor Liz Larsen Now Appearing at Arena Stage in Sarah Silverman’s The Bedwetter – A New Musical
Jordan Wright February 3, 2025
Liz Larsen
For Broadway, film and TV actor, Liz Larsen, a return to Washington, DC and Arena Stage since winning the Helen Hayes Award for Sunday in the Park with George in 1998, it is a very exciting time. In advance of attending opening night for Sarah Silverman’sThe Bedwetter who plays Sarah’s grandmother, Nana, I took the opportunity to chat with her about her career. Full Disclosure: Liz Larsen is my niece.
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Jordan Wright – In 1998 you performed at Arena Stage in the DC production of Sunday in the Park with George where you played Dot, the female lead, winning the Helen Hayes Award for “Best Actress in a Musical”. So let me just say, after all your years dazzling audiences on Broadway, a Tony nomination for The Most Happy Fella, and a Helen Hayes nom for Baby, we’re thrilled to have you back in town. For those who wonder why we haven’t seen you here in ages, you’ve been on Law & Order in various roles for 15 years plus roles in The Americans, Madoff, Mr. Robot, The Sopranos and many more TV series. On Broadway you were featured in half a dozen major productions. As many of your fans know, your longest Broadway run (six years!) was in The Carole King Musical playing Carole’s mother.
Currently you’re co-starring as Nana in the DC premiere of the Sarah Silverman semi-autobiographical musical, The Bedwetter, based loosely on her eponymous book. Just to let readers know, if they saw its highly acclaimed Off-Broadway run, the show now has a new book with additional music and lyrics by David Yazbek (The Band’s Visit). The role casts you as the grandmother of ten-year-old Sarah who struggles with the embarrassing condition of wetting her bed along with the many stresses kids have when entering a new school and dealing with being an outsider. Let’s talk about your role as the grandmother. Is there another role you might have done in the past to channel a grandmother?
Liz Larsen – I recently played the grandmother in Sunday in the Park with George in LA which was very full circle for me having played Dot. Now I’m playing a lot of mothers of grown children and grandmothers.
JW – Tony nominee, Anne Kauffman is directing. What’s the most challenging part of working with a new director?
LL – Absolutely nothing. She’s fantastic. I know that she trusts me and I trust her. I try to figure out the “voice” of the character with her. There’s a tone to this because it’s heartbreaking and yet it’s hilarious. There’s also a certain style to this piece that needs to be figured out and we’re all doing it on our feet. It’s very collaborative. What I enjoy is playing someone who is a real person. Like when I played Carole’s mother in “Beautiful” I liked learning about her. What’s amazing about Sarah’s mother is that she pulled herself out of a ten-year depression and went on to do great things in theatre.
Liz Larsen as Dot in Arena Stage”s production of Sunday in the Park with George
JW – You’re good friends with Ashley Blanchet who plays Miss New Hampshire and was one of the cast members in the original production. Have you worked with her or any of the other cast or crew members before this production?
LL – Ashley and I worked together in Beautiful. She played Little Eva. And Shoshana Bean, who won a Grammy last night for the “Best Musical Theatre Album” of Hell’s Kitchen, and I played in Hairspray together on Broadway in 2003. Davidand I worked together on Broadway in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Full Monty. [David Yasbek, composer/lyricist of The Band’s Visit, wrote additional music and lyrics for this show]
Liz Larsen
JW – What’s your preparation process?
LL – For this particular show, I practiced a Boston accent and her voice. Because she’s a smoker, I make my voice lower. And I walk a certain way because she’s in her 70’s.
JW – Do you have a routine before you go onstage?
LL – You’re gonna laugh, but gummi bears. They stimulate the saliva and moisten your throat.
JW – Favorite go-to snacks and food cravings?
LL – Just plain milk chocolate – no nuts, no caramel. Every single day of my life! It’s been great being in DC with the theatre across the street from The Wharf. I love seafood and they have great crabcakes here.
Liz Larsen in The Baltimorons
JW – What do you do in the rare times you’re not onstage or on camera?
LL – I like to cook – chicken soup with the whole chicken and matzoh ball soup. When I’m home I cook for my family and friends every night. And I love to read. Currently I’m reading Barbra Streisand’s audible book, “My Name is Barbra”. She narrates it. In it she tells what she ate and what she wore, and I love that. The other thing is swimming.
JW – You travel with your little dog, Finn. Is that for luck or comfort or both?
LL – It’s everything! I can’t be without him. Ashley and Shoshona have their dogs here too.
JW – What’s new career-wise?
LL – For the first time in my life, I was offered the lead in a movie. We shot it in Baltimore and now we’re all going to Austin for SXSW where it’s premiering later this month. It’s a buddy film – a romance. My co-star is 35 years old. I never thought that would happen! In it we spend 48 hours together at Christmas. It’s called the “Baltimorons”. Indie filmmakers Jay and Mark Duplass are the producers and directors.
JW – What is the one role you’d like to play?
LL – There have been roles I wanted to play like Mama Rose, but I feel like the role I’d want to play hasn’t been written yet.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.
World Premiere Schmigadoon! is a Wacky, Wonderful Spoof of Early Broadway Musicals Now at the Kennedy Center
Schmigadoon! The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Jordan Wright February 3, 2025
Sara Chase, McKenzie Kurtz, and Alex Brightman (Photo/Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
There was such a tremendous reception from the audience for every pun, joke, dance, slow burn and musical number throughout the sell-out performance of Schmigadoon! I attended last night, that I had to wonder what in the Sam Hell was up. The rousing applause and laughter were something I’d expect from avid theatregoers who come to a show having seen it before, maybe many times over, and are huge fans. I had to do a little digging to discover what the heck is the secret sauce to its immediate unquestionable success – especially given that the show is a spoof on old time musicals from the 50’s and 60’s and there was a young audience in total thrall.
If you didn’t see it, the series premiered on Apple TV + featuring a well-known cast of television and B’way superstars. Fans followed two seasons of episodes, and it was a huge hit winning kudos and awards along the way. Fast forward to this brand-new, live stage iteration and there’s your audience… plus anyone who grew up with these earlier musicals. To identify a few of the original tunes taken to hilarious heights, I thought I recognized The Music Man, Brigadoon (naturally), Carousel, Oklahoma, South Pacific and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. When you figure out the rest, let me know.
Emily Skinner and the cast of Schmigadoon (Photo/Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
For those unfamiliar with the story, it focuses on a young couple who have both literally and figuratively lost their way while on a weekend camping trip when they cross a bridge to find themselves in the throwback 1910’s in the mythical town of Schmigadoon. These two medical doctors, Josh and Melissa who are in the midst of a lovers’ spat, live in present-day New York City. In this retro, small town USA they find they are entirely out of their element, both socially and politically as they discover a community driven by Puritan values and yesteryear’s ignorance. But wow, can these small-town guys and gals sing and dance! As they say here, in a twist on the old trope, “Yee hawk”.
Eloise Kropp, Sara Chase, and Phillip Attmore (Photo/Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
This world premiere musical has a cast chock-a-block with beloved Broadway, film and TV veteran performers who sang their faces off to an audience who hooted and hollered with glee. So did we. It’s silly, sweet and infectious, while harkening back to a Victorian era when love was as pure as the driven snow and pre-marital sex and having babies out of wedlock was beyond the pale. All that makes for some wacky scenarios as Josh and Melissa thread their way back to their love for each other helped by an adorable town crier kid, Carson, who damn near steals the show.
Linda Cho’s costumes reflect vintage country with the ladies in floral prairie dresses and the men in Victorian daytime formal wear or farm togs with high-waisted trousers held up by wide suspenders. Director and choreographer, Christopher Gatelli steers the chorus line into some serious high-stepping dance moves from kicks, leaps and flips to a brilliantly executed tap number.
Alex Brightman and the cast of Schmigadoon (Photo/Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)
You will lean in close to pluck out Book, Music and Lyrics Composer, Cinco Paul’s references to past musicals. I had alternate tunes from early musicals running rampant in my brain while trying to focus on the music at hand. I cadged a few (see above). Unfortunately, the program gives no hint. There’s your challenge.
For old school aficionados of period Broadway musicals plus the younger audience who followed the TV series (did I leave anyone out?) this wacky, wonderful, farcical musical is for you.
09_Brad Oscar and Kevin Del Aguila_Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman
Starring Alex Brightman as Josh, Sara Chase as Melissa, Ann Harada from the original cast as Florence Menlove, Brad Oscar as Mayor Menlove, Emily Skinner as Mildred Layton, Ryan Vasquezas Danny Bailey, Javier Muñoz as Doc Lopez, McKenzie Kurtz as Betsy McDonough, Ayaan Diop as Carson Tate, Isabelle McCalla as Emma Tate, Kevin Del Aguila as Reverend Layton/Leprechaun with Phillip Attmore as Freddy, Brandon Block as Buford Riggs, Holly Ann Butler as Helen Pritt, Max Clayton as Larry the Fireman, Kimberly Immanuel as Zaneeta, Eloise Kropp as Nancy, Jess LeProtto as Pete, Nathan Lucrezio as Farmer McDonough, Lauralyn McClelland as Ruth O’Reilly, Shina Ann Morris as Norma Nelson, Angel Reda as The Countess Gabrielle Von Blerkom, and Richard Riaz Yoder as Harvey the Innkeeper.
Scenic Design by Scott Pask, Lighting Design by Jen Schriever, Sound Design by Haley Parcher. With the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra under the Musical Direction of Steven Malone and Jay Crowder.
Highly recommended. It’s a short run so snag your tix asap!
Through February 9th at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566. For tickets call the box office at 202 416-8540 or visit www.Kennedy-Center.org.
In the &Juliet Musical Rom-Com Juliet and Her BFFs Flip the Script at the Kennedy Center
&Juliet The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Jordan Wright December 23, 2024
The company of the North American Tour of & JULIET (Photo/Matthew Murphy)
Curious theatregoers are wondering, what happened to Romeo? Not to worry, readers, Romeo is in the house in full. But in this switcheroo, Anne Hathaway rewrites the classic play in which the ladies take charge. What if Juliet didn’t kill herself? So move over, Will, these ladies are on fire! In this female empowerment story, familiar pop hits from Max Martin, who wrote massive multi-platinum tracks for pop princesses like Taylor Swift, Pink, Katy Perry, Brittany Spears, Kelly Clarkson and Ariana Grande, collaborates on the music with fellow hitmakers tweaking the tunes to fit the plot. Speaking of the plot, sweet Juliet along with her kickass besties, Anne Hathaway as April and identity-confused May, “I’m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman”, get to flip the script on our pal Romeo, here self-portrayed as an insecure dolt who’s still madly in love with Juliet. Yes! He comes back to life too.
Corey Mach and Teal Wicks (Photo/Matthew Murphy)
You’ll need to suspend all notions of ye olde Shakespearean plots and dialogue because this iteration is a rock concert on steroids. To picture how it’s presented, imagine your English Renaissance characters sporting Jacobean hip-hop gear while breakdancing and pop-locking, krumping and kicking to a ferociously fierce beat provided by the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra who collaborate with the production’s own musicians.
While feisty Anne and Will trade barbs and witty quips – the adorable Will occasionally stealing back the plot from her – romance abounds. It’s a modern-day rom-com cum musical with the known-world characters finally having their say. Nurse, Angelique, is no shrinking violet either. In fact, she has her share of some of the snarkiest lines. It’s a huge, multi-diverse cast with killer voices, belting out 29 mega hits that keep the audience dancing in their seats. Because who can sit still for deliciously hot chart-toppers like “Oops, I Did It Again”, “Teenage Dream/Break Free”, “Roar”, “I Kissed a Girl”, “Baby One More Time” and “Whataya Want From Me” that François duets in a word-duel with May.
This multi-award-winning show is big fun! Catch it while you can!
Kathryn Allison (Photo/Matthew Murphy)
Directed by Luke Sheppard with Rachel Simone Webb as Juliet; Teal Wicks as Anne; Corey Mach as Shakespeare; Nick Drake as May; Kathryn Allison as Angélique; Michael Canu as Romeo; Paul-Jordan Jansen as Romeo; Mateus Leite Cardoso as François; Naima Alakham as Lady Capulet/Nell; Nella Cole as Eleanor/Benvolio; Camille Brooks as Judith; Lois Ellise as Susanna; Ishmael Gonzalez as Gregory; Kenneth Onesimus Goubran as Augustine; Shelby Griswold as Lucy; Christopher Robert Hanford as Henry; Jourdan Ibe as Lennox; Josh Jordan as Richard; Nichole Lamb as Margaret; Yoshi Maysonet as Dion; Usman Ali Mughal as Lord Capulet/Sly; Jaydon Nget as Kempe; Kyra Smith as Titania; and Francisco Thurston as Cuthbert.
Music and Lyrics by Max Martin and Friends; Book by David West Read; Music Supervisor, Orchestrations and Arrangements by Bill Sherman; Choreographed by Jennifer Weber; Scenic Design by Soutra Gilmore; Costume Design by Paloma Young; Lighting Design by Howard Hudson; Sound Design by Gareth Owen; Video & Projection Design by Andrzej Goulding; Hair/Wig & Makeup Design by J. Jared Janas; Dance Captain, Francisco Thurston.
Through January 5th in the Opera House at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566. For tickets and information call the box office at 202.467.4600 or visit the website at www.Kennedy-Center.org
From Yann Martell’s Extraordinary Novel “Life of Pi” Comes a Captivating and Visionary Five Star Fantasy at the Kennedy Center
Life of Pi The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Jordan Wright December 21, 2024
Taha Mandviwala as Pi, and Richard Parker (Toussaint Jeanlouis, Shiloh Goodin, Anna Leigh Gortner) (Photo/Evan Zimmerman)
This extraordinary production follows Yann Martell’s novel as closely as I can recall. Having read the philosophical novel in 2001 when it earned the worldwide attention of book critics, later garnering the Man Booker Prize, I recalled a most unusual story. It tells of Pi (Taha Mandviwala and on the night I saw it was performed admirably by his understudy Savidu Geevaratne), a teenager growing up in Pondicherry, India surrounded by his family and the wild animals at his father’s botanical zoo. He’s a playful boy full of questions about God. Each week he attends a mosque, a church and a temple searching for answers. His sister, Rani, keeps an eye on him. “I just want to love God,” he reveals, as the holy men offer up the virtues of their different religions.
Butterflies, neon-colored fish, an orangutan, a dog, a sea turtle, hyenas and a giraffe are among the myriads of creatures you will see during Pi’s adventures, with each one representing certain challenges to a boy faced with the unthinkable. “My story will make you believe in God,” he tells the audience.
The country is in turmoil when his father announces they are going to relocate to Canada by ship taking the animals with them to start a new life. Before leaving his father takes in a Bengal tiger with the odd name of Richard Parker. Pi foolishly sneaks into his cage and is caught by his father who wants to teach his son a lesson by tossing in a beloved goat which Richard Parker promptly devours. “This world is dangerous,” his father warns his son.
Taha Mandviwala as Pi, and Richard Parker (Toussaint Jeanlouis, Shiloh Goodin, Anna Leigh Gortner) (Photo/Evan Zimmerman)
When the ship sinks in a dangerous storm and everyone is lost at sea, Pi must fend for himself on a small lifeboat. Soon a zebra named Black & White as well as the menacing Richard Parker climb aboard the small boat and Pi must face the dangers that lie ahead. Months at sea with a small cache of food and water from a discovered survival kit force Pi to reckon with his dire situation when he is joined by an equally desperate hyena who climbs into the boat and makes a meal of the zebra eyeing Pi as his next victim. Pi, raised in a Muslim household, shuns meat, compounding his survival even more.
In his delirium and as conditions become more dire with the passing months, members of his long-lost family appear to him with advice on how to survive. Admiral Jackson who wrote the survival book Pi finds in his ration box, tells him, “Kill or be killed.” When Pi’s father appears in another dream, he advises Pi to dominate the big cat, and with a small whistle and a large oar, Pi bravely cows the beast.
The story incorporates his family life at the zoo and his colorful village to his confinement on the boat and later a raft tied to the boat to distance himself from the tiger, to Pi’s rescue from the middle of the Pacific Ocean to an infirmary in Tomatlán, Mexico where he is interviewed by Mr. Okamoto from the Department of Transportation and Lulu Chen from the Canadian Embassy – both determined to extract Pi’s story of the shipwreck and how he survived. Neither believe his report. “We want a different story,” they insist.
Taha Mandviwala as Pi and Richard Parker (Toussaint Jeanlouis, Shiloh Goodin, Anna Leigh Gortner), Back-Sinclair Mitchell, Rishi Jaiswal, Betsy Rosen (Photo/Evan Zimmerman)
I thought of the psychologist Carl Jung’s book, “Man and His Symbols” and Joseph Campbell’s work on mythologies to parallel Pi’s search for the answers to life’s greatest questions through dreams and imagination. Life of Pi is both an extraordinary fable and a brilliant production incorporating fantastical puppetry, which, if you are familiar with Julie Taymor’s puppetry in the musical The Lion King, will help you to understand how this highly inventive story is told with the most imaginative stagecraft. It’s true that the theme is complex, like life, yet the story is universal and told in a poetical manner with humor, grace and beauty.
Highly recommended!!! This is one of the most moving, intellectually stimulating and visionary productions. The cast is marvelous and the puppetry captivating and irresistibly clever.
LIFE_OF_PI_NATIONAL TOUR_Taha Mandviwala as Pi, and Richard Parker (Toussaint Jeanlouis, Shiloh Goodin, Anna Leigh Gortner)_Photo by EVAN_ZIMMERMAN (3)
With Ben Durocher and Emmanuel Elpenord as Cook/Voice of Richard Parker; Sorab Wadia as Father; Sinclair Mitchell as Admiral Jackson/Russian Sailor/Father Martin; Jessica Angleskhan as Amma/Nurse/Orange Juice; Mi Kang as Lulu Chen/Mrs. Biology Kumar/Zaida Khan; Rishi Jaiswal as Mamaji/Pandit-Ji; Alan Ariano as Mr. Okamoto/Captain/Jai; Sharayu Mahale as Rani; Ben Durocher,Emmanuel Elpenord, Shiloh Goodin, Anna Leigh Gortner, Austin Wong Harper, Toussaint Jeanlouis, Intae Kim, Maya Rangulu, Betsy Rosen and Anna Vomacka as Richard Parker/Puppeteer.
Novel adapted by Lolita Chakrabati; Directed by Max Webster; Scenic and Costume Design by Tim Hatley; Puppetry and Movement Director Finn Caldwell; Puppet Design by Nick Barnes & Finn Caldwell; Video & Animation Design by Andrzej Goulding; Lighting Design by Tim Lutkin & Tim Deiling; Sound Design by Carolyn Downing; Hair & Wig Design by David Brian Brown & Meg Murphy; Composer Andrew T. Mackay; Dramaturg Jack Bradley.
Through January 5th at the Kennedy Center, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20566. For tickets and information call the box office at 202.467.4600 or visit the website at www.Kennedy-Center.org
Ken Ludwig’s Glamorous Stage Adaption of Agatha Christie’s Death on the Nile Appeals to Murder Mystery Buffs
Agatha Christie – Death on the Nile Arena Stage Jordan Wright December 12, 2024
Eric Hissom (Septimus Troy), Nancy Robinette (Salomé Otterbourne), Sumié Yotsukura (Rosalie Otterbourne), Katie Kleiger (Jacqueline de Bellefort), Armando Durán (Hercule Poirot), Felicia Curry (Annabelle Pennington), and Jamil A.C. Mangan (Colonel Race) (Photo/Charles Erickson Photography)
Two lovers, Jacqueline de Bellefort (Kate Kleiger) and Simon Doyle (Travis Van Winkle), ooze passion in the opening scene of Ken Ludwig’s stage adaption of Death on the Nile. They have just gotten engaged. Jacqueline is an old friend of femme fatale and museum benefactress, Linnet Ridgeway (Olivia Cygan), and she is eager to renew her friendship that evening at a gala reception in the Egyptian rooms at the British Museum where museum curator, Atticus Praed (Robert Stanton), will be revealing the sarcophagus of Amun-Ra to the assembled guests.
The glittering crowd includes Linnet Ridgeway; Salomé Otterbourne (Nancy Robinette), an erstwhile author and aspiring actress and her beautiful daughter, Rosalie (Sumié Yotsukura). Salomé meets Septimus Troy, (Eric Hissom) a debonair gentleman whose former Shakespearean acting career has been reduced to playing American cowboys and somehow the two hit it off.
Also in attendance is Hercule Poirot (Armando Durán), Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian detective; Colonel Race (Jamil A. C. Mangan), Poirot’s dear friend and former collaborator; Ramses Praed (Ryan Michael Neely), Atticus’s son, a handsome, young doctor who begins a love affair with Rosalie Otterbourne. A late arrival is Linnet’s attorney, Annabelle Pennington (Felicia Curry) who urges Linnet to sign a sheaf of contracts relating to her estate.
A voyage along the Nile to Karnak to return the sarcophagus to Egypt is planned for the guests and all gather on the ship. At this point you’ll need to brush up on your sleuthing powers, because this is a whodunnit with plenty of motives for murder, clues that lead nowhere, red herrings and leads that fall flat. “Wherever you go, a dead body shows up,” Colonel Race quips presciently to Poirot. And as the ship leaves the port, the plot thickens.
Travis Van Winkle (Simon Doyle) and Olivia Cygan (Linnet Ridgeway) (Photo/Charles Erickson Photography)
It will soon be revealed that there are suspects and a slew of motives for murder when Linnet is murdered in her bed. Linnet, who has hired Simon at Jacqueline’s suggestion, has married Simon and Jacqueline’s jealousy and retribution at both Simon and Linnet knows no bounds. Could it be her? Or Atticus, who was left in a financial lurch when Linnet’s father pulled his major donation to the museum? Perhaps it’s Annabelle who continues to press Linnet to sign some dubious contracts or Septimus who has a beef with Linnet’s father who pulled his funding out of film he was to star in.
This mystery has all the drama of the sinking of the Titanic – the glitter, the glamour and the dénouement. Alexander Dodge’s breathtaking set design (the ship’s elegantly appointed lounge and the massive sarcophagus) combined with Brittany Bland’s evocative video projections of Egypt’s history and atmospheric images of the Nile, and Karen Perry’s fabulous costume designs (Linnet’s gowns are jaw-dropping!) serve to elevate the entire production in which you will note a cast that is clearly up to the task.
A triumph and challenge for mystery buffs everywhere.
Jamil A.C. Mangan (Colonel Race), Travis Van Winkle (Simon Doyle), and Olivia Cygan (Linnet Ridgeway) (Photo/Charles Erickson Photography)
Directed by Hana S. Sharif, Lighting Design by Kenneth Posner, Original Music and Sound Design by Charles Coes and Nathan A. Roberts, Hair and Wig Design by LaShawn Melton, Fight Director Sordelet Inc. – Rick Sordelet, Dramaturg Otis Ramsey-Zöe, Dialect and Vocal Coach Lisa Nathans.
Through December 29th at Arena Stage in the Kreeger Theater – 1101 Sixth Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024. For tickets and information contact the box office at 202.488.3300 or visit www.ArenaStage.org.
Leopoldstadt is Compelling and Complicated with a Perfect Cast to Showcase Tom Stoppard’s Award-Winning Drama
Leopoldstadt Shakespeare Theatre Company Jordan Wright December 8, 2024
Samuel Adams and Brenda Meaney in Leopoldstadt. (Photo/Teresa Castracane, courtesy of Shakespeare Theatre Company)
To know where playwright Tom Stoppard’s drama is going, you’ll need to start with the meaning of Leopoldstadt. It was a shtetl where Jews from all walks of life were forced to live – a walled off ghetto with no escape and a life of unimaginable deprivation.
Set in the European cultural center of Vienna in 1899 where Mahler, Freud, Wittgenstein and other great Jewish minds were highly revered, we are introduced to members of a large haute bourgeois Austrian family. They are cultured and fashionable leading a charmed life – highly educated, completely assimilated into the greater society of the Viennese, and intermarried within the Jewish and Christian religions. Not unusual at the time, these interfaith families enjoyed meaningful positions in high society and academia where they were esteemed for their scholarly contributions.
The cast of Leopoldstadt. (Photo/Teresa Castracane, courtesy of Shakespeare Theatre Company)
Their life appears to be a series of dinners and family rituals where they celebrate both Christmas and Hannukah and a hilarious scene that complicates decisions of an upcoming bris. It is a close-knit family filled with children, young singles and married couples where Grandma Emilia presides over these light-hearted gatherings. Ken MacDonald’s set design reflects the family’s well-established social achievements with a grand interior space reflective of the Art Nouveau period. The trouble comes, as expected, with the Nazis’ rise to power and, with that, any Jewish birth or Jewish marital connection, becomes a death sentence.
We follow this extended family’s hopes and dreams through three generations, touching on the carefree days of 1924 and later the family’s removal to the concentration camps before ending with pre-millennial Britain in the last act, only to witness how swiftly their life of culture and prosperity prove insupportable as power and privilege are ripped away and their inevitable removal to the death camps is a foregone conclusion.
(L to R) Mishka Yarovoy, Nael Nacer, and Brenda Meaney (Photo/Liza Voll, courtesy of The Huntington)
Providing all manner of twists and turns, Stoppard has designed a series of intricate interactions within these relationships – an affair, a proposed duel, a mathematical improbability and a surprise conclusion as one family member discovers he is actually fully Christian and must grapple with his past. To find out how that came to be, you’ll have to wait till the last act. Stoppard, whose successes with plays like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Travesties and most especially Arcadia, which follows the same theme, wants us to see how quickly unbridled political power combined with a dangerous brew of prejudice, fear and religious frenzy can destroy entire societies. In Leopoldstadt we witness the astonishing pace with which these dramatic shifts in public opinion can occur and thrive.
An extraordinary and compelling exploration into one family (Twenty-one cast members play multiple roles!) who become victims in the massive dragnet of the Nazi regime and how swiftly that unthinkable evil can decimate tens of millions of lives.
A powerful and compelling drama infused with the added warmth and camaraderie of a fascinatingly complicated and deeply connected Jewish family. Highly recommended for a supremely perfect cast and Carey Perloff’s brilliant direction.
Phyllis Kay, Firdous Bamji, Teddy Schechter, and Joshua Chessin-Yudin (Photo/Teresa Castracane, courtesy of Shakespeare Theatre Company)
With Samuel Adams as Fritz, Percy; Firdous Bamji as Kurt, Ludwig; Joshua Chessin-Yudin as Zac, Nathan; Sarah Corey as Wilma; Anna Theoni DiGiovanni as Hanna, Hermione; Samuel Douglas as Otto, Civilian; Maboud Ebrahimzadeh as Ernst; Rachel Felstein as Eva, Nellie: Rebecca Gibel as Hilde, Rosa; Adrianne Krstansky as Poldi, Hanna; Brenda Meaney as Gretl; Harrison Morford as Young Jacob, Heini; William Morford as Pauli, Young Leo; Nael Nacer as Hermann; Teddy Schechter as Young Jacob, Heini/Pauli, Young Leo; Anna Slate as Jana, Sally; Adrianna Weir as Young Sally, Mimi/Young Rosa, Bella; Mila Weir as Young Sally, Mimi; Audrey Ella Wolff as Young Rosa, Bella; and Mishka Yarovoy as Jacob, Leo.
Beautiful period costumes designed by Alex Jaeger; Lighting Design by Robert Wierzel; Sound Design & Original Music by Jane Shaw; Projection Design by Yuki Izumihara; Wig & Makeup Design by Tom Watson; Associate Director Dori A. Robinson.
Through December 29th at Shakespeare Theatre Company at Harman Hall, 610 F Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004. For tickets and information call the box office at 202.547.1122 or visit www.ShakespeareTheatre.org.
