33 Variations starring Jane Fonda at the O’Neill Theater includes a bit of a time warp in which we travel back to Germany and
Austria of the early 19th century to observe Ludwig von Beethoven at work.
The time travel began before we even entered the theater however, as we were treated to a group of six angry right
wing nuts stuck in 1972 screaming that we (along with Hanoi Jane) were a bunch of commie pinkos. Theatrical as it was, sadly they were serious. Safely inside
the O’Neill we were quickly brought back to date by the tasteful renovation of the O’Neill following the departure
of the much loved Spring Awakening and the realization of what a well crafted old theater it remains.
Playwright Moises Kaufman (The Laramie Project) tells us that 33 Variations, while based on historical fact,
i.e., the publication of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, the story is not literal but rather a “series of variations
on a moment in a life.” Just as musical variations are: the repetition
of a musical theme with modifications in rhythm, tune harmony or key, Kaufman mirrors and varies that moment in time
and space. Two characters connected across centuries by the magic in the music
pursue its soul and inspiration. The connections also speak to variations on
a common theme of the human spirit: the drive to accomplish, to make our mark on the course of history before we pass on. Beethoven (Zach Grenier) struggles to complete the Diabelli Variations, one of his
final masterpiece works, which took a simple drinking song melody to new heights while losing his hearing and his health in
general. Modern day musicologist Katherine Brandt (Jane Fonda) travels to Bonn
despite the fact that she too is dying, in her case of the rapidly debilitating ALS, to continue her academic study of Beethoven’s
work. There she examines sketches (notes) of his work in progress with the help
of local scholar Gertrude Ladenburger (Susan Kellerman) to deconstruct why he took on the Variations project and what inspired
him to make so much of so little.
Both are driven by their work, to bring closure to it and in the end, to their
lives, ignoring the protestations of those closest to them that in
