Leopoldstadt
A moving evening at the Shakespeare Theatre Company.
Leopoldstadt is a brilliant autobiographical play by Tom Stoppard, directed by Carey Perloff. I didn’t fully comprehend how impactful Leopoldstadt would be for me. How it is in some ways the story of my family. My mother escaped from Vienna and the Nazis at fourteen, with her mother, only to leave her father behind. He did manage to get out a few years after they did, and reunited with them in New York.
This play has echoes of today. It should scare us, and remind us that Donald Trump, who has found good things about Hitler, doesn’t think many of us, including myself, a member of the LGBTQ+ community, are real Americans. Just as the Jews weren’t considered real Austrians. Some members of the family portrayed on stage, believed things would get better. That they would turn around without anyone fighting back. Today we know they didn’t, and because of that we need to watch the likes of the Kash Patels of the Trump administration, who vow to ‘get’ those they perceive as their enemies. Watching Leopoldstadt is not just a history lesson about the lives of one family, it must be taken as a warning for all of us. Yes, history does repeat itself if we let it.
The acting is superb. The adult Leo, Mishka Yarovoy, is wonderful. As are the adult Rosa, Rebecca Gibel, and Nathan, Joshua Chessin-Yudin. The entire cast is perfect, and too many to mention, but each is a great actor.
The play, from the costumes to the sets, is often mesmerizing to watch and listen too. It all builds to the final act when Leo learns what has happened to each member of the family. Those few that escaped like he did, to those who committed suicide, to those, most of the family, who were gassed in Auschwitz. He learned that even those who tried to fit in, hiding their Jewishness, didn’t live. I spoke with two people from the audience after the play, and they said they had a hard time keeping the names of the family, and the relationships, straight. But we agreed in the end, it didn’t matter. They were a family of Jews who would all suffer under the Nazis, even those who thought by marrying out of their faith, and trying to fit in, weren’t always able to keep either themselves, or their children, safe.
The creative team has done a marvelous job adding to the feeling you get from the production in so many ways. The set is wonderful thanks to Scenic Designer, Ken MacDonald. Then you the feel of old Vienna by Costume Designer, Alex Jaeger. There is Projection Designer, Yuki Izumihara and Lighting Designer. Robert Wierzel. Add to that the original music and Sound Designer, Jane Shaw.
This is a play everyone should see. As I said it is not only a history lesson, but a clarion call to understand what could happen here today. It is an emotional night in the theater even for those who don’t relate as I do, because of my family’s experiences. There is a reason this play won a Tony award for Best Play in 2023. This cast does it justice. Leopoldstadt will be at Harman Hall through December 29th. You can order your tickets online now.