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CRITICAL REVIEW ANALYSIS

The Arena 2007 premiere was met with great success and was directed by Moisés Kauffman, who was credited for his mastery at “refracting key theatrical themes,” to the fit the characters perfectly. This review specifically mentions each character’s story being strong enough to hold its own throughout the play. I believe this is a key component to note in any production to ensure the show is balanced as intended. The two “anchors” of the show, Katherine and Beethoven were noted on having a strong stage presence-vital to this role’s success.

The show was next premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2008 and the reviewer was the same as the Arena Production in 2007. This was a helpful piece of information as it gave a clear compare and contrast view of the two productions. The projections were utilized differently in this production and it seemed to have an even stronger effect. The leads (Katherine and Beethoven) were described as “muted” and their lack of intensity was mentioned, again aiding our production by emphasizing the need for two strong actors in these roles. This was the last production before its run-on Broadway.

 

The play premiered on Broadway in 2009, starring Jane Fonda in her first stage role in 46 years. The choice to cast Fonda in the role led to heavy controversy due to her past involvement in protests years earlier against the Vietnam war. Despite the adversity, Fonda received positive reviews more so that the play itself. The NY times stated, “Ms. Fonda’s layered crispness is, I regret to add, a contrast to Mr. Kaufman’s often soggy play.”  Fonda connected with the role and definitely did her research to prepare. She is quoted in an interview for the Morning addition with Sara Strasburg saying, “You know, I'm sort of smitten with Beethoven. Do you realize that when he was deaf, he would saw the legs off the piano and lie naked on it and play upside down, so he could feel the vibrations in his body? I went to Bonn. I went to the archives. I stood in the - I stood in the room where Beethoven was born and wept. I mean it was profound experience.” . This information is vital to our production as it is a clear that there will be an heavy reliance on our dramaturg to inform the actors of the historical significance and innuendos of the musicians and variations.Other highlights in this production were “Beethoven working through the composition of Variation 32 amid much psycho-storm” and the “hospital sequence in which the “Kyrie eleison” is heard”. The show was criticized for the contemporary scenes being “clunky” claiming, “Original dialogue is not the strong suit of Mr. Kaufman, whose best-known previous work has mostly involved the artful arrangement of transcribed interviews (in “The Laramie Project,”). This makes us aware that tackling the language may prove difficult and the director’s eye should be on ensuring a naturalistic delivery of dialogue in future productions. Despite the shows mixed reviews, the Broadway production was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Play, and received the award for the best Scenic Design.

Following its two-and-a-half-month limited engagement run on Broadway, the show moved to the West Coast at the Ahmanson Theatre with much of the current cast intact. In this production, Jane Fonda gets an extremely strong review, proving that this role needs time and repetition to develop properly with all of the particular  nuances involved that this demanding role calls for. The transitions were highlighted in this review stating that, the play moves nimbly back and forth through time and space. This will be helpful to understand that the transitions are most effective when they are quick and easily function.

The production received a fresh cast and concept for the 2012 Timeline Theatre production in Chicago, IL in 2012. This production is praised for its intimate design. The piano, that was placed to the side for both the premier and Broadway runs is now made central, and it seems to have a positive effect, revolving everything around the pianist and the playing of the variations live throughout the play. The Beethoven in this production is criticized for not being as rough around the edges but the character highlighted for the first time here is Schindler and how “love, complexity, and insecurity” are key to making this character work.

The most recent production in Melbourne Australia starred Ellen Burstyn in the leading role of Katherine. Our production will take a look at two separate reviews on this play to get a further analysis of what was or was not affective. The first reviewer Patricia Maunder describes Dann Barber’s set as having “a simplicity that is both practical and elegant.” In contrast to Fiona Blairs review that calls it too “presentational” and “vague” with too many doors. Both reviews mention the use of projections, but it is Blair’s review that finds the up and down screens distracted and inconsistent. Again, the character of Schindler is mentioned as being endearing, but Ellen as Katherine is criticized for an uneven sense of deterioration in her energy and physicality. Neither review here mentions piano placement but upon further investigation into production photos the choice again was made to make it the central focal point of the show.

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