LEOPOLDSTADT Reviews — Page 4

VirginiaK said: "Another review, from a writer I like, George Blecher. I plan to see this anyhow but I found this review engaging. https://www.nycitywoman.com/tom-stoppards-leopoldstadt-on-broadway-a-review/


Thanks for this link. I saw it two weeks ago and have been trying to figure out why it didn't land for me, and this review best articulates my thoughts. Put me on the side of the disappointed.

I also liked SisterGeorge's comment: "Exquisitely staged and acted, but a bit of a disappointment as the themes and story felt quite familiar, and that's something I've never been able to say about any other Stoppard play. The final scene is unquestionably devastating but bringing in a (SPOILER ALERT "woman in gold" plot device) seemed quite derivative at this point." I would just add that I found the final scene compelling but not devastating.

If "Leopoldstadt" will be viewed as Thus Spake Stoppard on the Holocaust, a lifetime in the making, (or at least from 1993 when he found he was 100% Jewish) I thought he would have so much more interesting things to spake (and to show). In addition to the themes and story feeling familiar as SisterGeorge noted, stylistically, at varying points, it felt like a bit of a pastiche of vintage Stoppard: some farce; the use of math/science principles (in this case the cat's cradle and I'm sure one or two others that I have forgotten) to make a larger point; name checking a few prominent intellectuals of the era, to describe a few, all contributing to the sense that I have seen this all before.

And, Sir Tom, the tropes, the tropes - an evil Nazi humiliating a woman in a wheelchair. Really? Do I need that easy reminder of what evil sadistic scum they were? I remember thinking in some scene that the sound of glass breaking cueing Kristallnacht was not far behind and sure enough.........(I'm Jewish by the way, so am not belittling the horror of Kristallnacht -just the predictability of the aural cue and it being symbolic of other obviousness).

"Leopoldstadt" seemed more like one of Stoppard's more conventional and accessible big budget period screenplays--but with an extended apologia tacked on to the end to remind us it is a play of ideas. I do agree with another poster who suggested the reckoning in the final scene might have been a better starting point and would have resulted in a much more personal rendering of Stoppard coming to terms with his Jewish identity or lack thereof.

Since it is Stoppard, I do note that the words spoken on stage were very fine ones, forming beautifully constructed sentences, not unworthy of hearing, but so not in the service, for me, of anything truly memorable. I so badly wanted "Lepoldstadt" to be more.

Physical production was beautiful. A terrific cast on paper (assembled and moved around beautifully by Marber), but I thought some of the acting was a little too shouty, lest we miss the point. I know projection and articulation are very, very important to Stoppard, but still.

This is a view from Row M 14. Not sure what side you were on.

https://aviewfrommyseat.com/photo/110422/Longacre+Theatre/section-Orchestra+L/row-M/seat-14/

Beautiful piece about the play on NBC Nightly New tonight, including comments by Stoppard.

FYI - Brandon Uranowitz tested positive for COVID. He posted it on his Instagram.

I was way up in the balcony. Balcony Row E on House Right to be exact.

My lottery seat was in the front row. Albeit this was right after opening so they might have changed where they are offering.

I won the lotto for Wed's performance and got Orchestra Row B seat 2, I was thrilled; the stage is pretty low. The row in front of me was empty, as was most of the front row center. I loved the play but remain confused about how all of the characters were related to each other -- I can't imagine trying to figure it out from the balcony.

kwoc91 said: "FYI - Brandon Uranowitz tested positive for COVID. He posted it on his Instagram."

Saw the show tonight, didn't know Uranowitz was going to be out and was initially really upset, he was a big reason I was seeing it. That said, I thought his understudy. Dylan S Wallach was excellent in those roles, The rest of the cast was uniformly excellent, so impressed that with so many actors, there was no weak links, especially with those that played such different roles from scene to scene. Didn't matter I lost track of how people were related, you felt the essence of the relationships throughout.

I was Orchestra M19-21 (thanks, Broadway Week) and really didn't fee like I missed that much, aside from the Shabbat (?) scene were we missed half the table.

He was back on the 10th.

Am currently in London for work and was thrilled to be able to rent the National Theatre video of their production for 8 pounds for three days, saving me a heck of a lot of $ trying to see it in NYC. My VPN in the US couldn't fool the NT so glad I was able to do this during the trip. What a bargain.

Rushed on Tuesday night , first in line got B 2 and 3 perfect seats

The play was extraordinary, brilliantly acted , funny in places, heartbreaking in others. A stunning night of theatre.

Saw this tonight and thought it was excellent, as did my husband. We'd both love to see it again now that we know what's going on, but there is too much else to see right now so we'll have to see if it's still running next time we're here. .

I just read through the thread and find it interesting that so many people didn't care for the last part, as it was a big part of what made it work so well for me. I do think it could have been longer because it's so epic in scale, but it's extremely well-crafted for its length with how many characters are involved.

I never would have known it was Josh Malina's first night in the show from his performance. he seemed like a great fit for Hermann. Brandon Uranowitz was probably the highlight for me - not only great in musicals, I guess!! And I was pleasantly surprised to see Seth Numrich was in this. I saw him in Power of Sail at the Geffen Playhouse in LA last year, and was really impressed by him in that.. To be perfectly honest, I didn't initially realize he played two characters in this play because they looked and acted so differently - I only placed him as Percy before looking at the Playbill.

We sat in the front row of the left mezz all the way at the end because those were some of the cheapest seats and I have a bunch more shows coming up during this trip that I've already splurged on. While the seats were fine (too narrow, imo, but well-padded and with great sightlines), I wish we had gotten seats a little closer and in the orchestra so we could more easily track some of the characters. I definitely want to read the play - we missed a bit of the dialogue up top due to some chatty audience members. Thankfully they settled down.