When does artistic passion cross the line into obsession? When does that drive create works of lasting beauty, and when does it shut loved ones out? The answers are neither simple nor the same for all, but the quest to understand can open unexpected doors and Moisés Kaufman’s Broadway play, “33 Variations,” does just that. Drama Dock will present the play, which includes live piano interludes, at the Kay White Hall Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 5 to 8.
Inspired by Ludwig van Beethoven’s fervor to write variations on a prosaic song that became his famous “33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli,” the play weaves together two stories set in two eras to look at the power of obsession, the creative process, greed, relationships, love and the ephemeral and transformative beauty that lives on in works of art.
The main characters, a musicologist named Dr. Katherine Brant and Beethoven, played by islanders and professional actors Jeanne Dougherty and Paul Shapiro, share parallel life events. Brandt is obsessed with why Beethoven was obsessed with writing not one but 33 variations, all the while struggling with his growing deafness. Struggling with her own declining health — Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease — she is desperate to discover why a composer at the height of his powers would focus on the insignificant waltz so she can finish her book on the subject before she dies. She travels to Bonn, Germany to search Beethoven’s notebooks and letters for clues and along the way discovers insights into her own obsession with genius.
Director Charlotte Tiencken had never heard of the 2007 play and neither had Drama Dock. A Vashon High School graduate and current actor in Seattle, Max Lopuszynski, suggested it. When Drama Dock approached Tiencken with the script, she said she was “blown away” by it.
“It is so beautifully written and is an incredible story about a woman dealing with her own mortality and her contentious relationship with her daughter and about Beethoven dealing with the genius within him,” she said. “The play also has a lot of history about Beethoven, his point of view, how he lived his life, how he was able to do what he did being sick a lot and with not much money.”
Separated by 200 years, the two characters grapple with their art, relationships and mortality. Excerpts from the composer’s technically challenging “33 Variations” bridge the past and the present and will be played on stage by accomplished island pianist Linda Lee.
“With ‘33 Variations,’ Beethoven revolutionized the entire variation form, so it’s an incredibly complex set of variations,” said the play’s producer and musician Gaye Detzer.
Another complex element is the relationship between Brandt and her daughter Clara, played by Bonny Moss. Clara tries to reach a rapport with her mother while also developing a relationship with her love interest Mike, played by Marshall Murray. Stephen Floyd plays Diabelli and Micheal Shook plays Beethoven’s secretary, Anton Schindler. Midge Duncan plays the German librarian, Gertrude Landenburger. Susan McCabe is stage manager.
“The cast is amazing,” Tiencken said, “and I am proud of Drama Dock for choosing this play. It has so much depth, soul, incredible music and a wonderful story.”
The show runs at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 5, 6, and 7, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 8. Tickets are sold at vashoncenterforthearts.org and at VCA. Due to adult themes, the show is recommended for ages 12 and up.
