Nominated for 5 Tony Awards including Best Play and Best Performance for Jane Fonda!
Jane Fonda heads a cast of eight in 33 Variations, a new American play written and directed by Moisés Kaufman, about musicologist Katherine Brandt (portrayed by Fonda) trying to solve a centuries-old mystery regarding Ludwig van Beethoven's "Diabelli Variations."
Katherine's obsession takes her from present-day New York to 19th-century Austria. As the music that consumes Katherine comes to life on stage, she races against time to find common ground with her daughter and to embrace the legacy of her own life.
"It's a fine line between brittle and breakable. Jane Fonda blurs that distinction to memorable effect [...] Playing a sharp-witted, terminally ill musicologist confronting the betrayal of her body, Ms. Fonda exudes an aura of beleaguered briskness that flirts poignantly with the ghost of her spiky, confrontational screen presence as a young woman."
-- Ben Brantley, The New York Times
User Reviews
Read what our TM Insiders had to say about 33 Variations!
I would rate it somewhere between okay and good. Im more into musical comedies, so this was a little out of my league, but Im glad I saw it. Jane Fonda was excellent in it, but I think the real star was the pianist! Her performance easily left the entire audience with goosebumps. It was a sad story, but it had traces of humor in it and the cast did a fine job.
rating: no rating · posted on 5/18/2009 at 5:48 PM
Review: RE:Lavish and ambitious new production spotlights Jane Fonda bymorsesline
There are four reasons to see Thirty-Three Variations. The marquee suggests the first, the opportunity to see Jane Fonda on the Broadway satge. Fonda is Dr. Katherine Brandt, a musicologist striving to understand why Beethoven devoted years of his life to composing thirty-three variations of a simple, fifty-second waltz. Fondas portrayal of a singleminded academic is solid, but its not until she begins to succumb to ALS, or Lou Gehrigs disease, that we see the depth of her abilities. Fondas transformation is physical, psychological, and admirable. The sublime Zach Grenier, fresh from the run of "A Man for All Seasons" where heportrayed Oliver Cromwell opposite Frank Lagella, is a passionate, volitile, and fascinating Beethoven. Grenier presides over the play in the manner of John Barrymore, possessing the power and emotion of an ensemble.
Set designer Derek McLane conjures both the reality and magnitude of Ludwig Von Beethovens prolific genius by filling the stage with sketchbooks, archival boxes, and sheet music, which David Lander lights to perfection. Their labors, coupled with those of projection designer Jeff Sugg, ensure the production is filled with stunning stage pictures. Although the script is touching and laugh out loud funny, playwright and director Moises Kafman attempts to tell too many stories in too much detail. His central premise is interesting, but Margaret Edson found much greater success with her portrayal of a forthright academic being forcibly transformed by disease. Vivian Bearing had opportunities that Kaufman never allows his Katherine Brandt - to reflect and breathe.
rating: no rating · posted on 2/19/2009 at 11:46 AM
Five Minutes With Jane Fonda
The star of the new play 33 Variations joins director Moises Kaufman for a revealing interview about her return to Broadway, her relationship with dau...
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