Leopoldstadt (play)

Leopoldstadt is a play by Sir Tom Stoppard, originally directed by Patrick Marber, which premiered on 25 January 2020 at Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End. The play is set among the wealthy Jewish community in Vienna,[1] in the first half of the 20th century and follows the lives of "a prosperous Jewish family who had fled the pogroms in the East".[2] According to Stoppard, the play "took a year to write, but the gestation was much longer. Quite a lot of it is personal to me, but I made it about a Viennese family so that it wouldn't seem to be about me." All four of Stoppard's grandparents were Jews murdered by Nazis in concentration camps.[3] On 2 October 2022, the production opened on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre with Marber directing.[4]

This article is about the Tom Stoppard play. For the district of Vienna, see Leopoldstadt.

Leopoldstadt
Written byTom Stoppard
Date premiered25 January 2020
Place premieredWyndham's Theatre
London
Original languageEnglish
SubjectHistory, Jewish life, The Holocaust, antisemitism
GenreDrama
SettingVienna during first half of the 20th century from 1899 to 1955

A National Theatre Live recording was screened in over 380[5] cinemas on 27 January (Holocaust Memorial Day), 2022 and topped that night's UK and Ireland box office.[6] The play's second preview performance had also taken place on Holocaust Memorial Day, in 2020, when each audience member was given a memorial candle as they left the theatre.[7]

Background

Patrick Marber, who worked with Stoppard on the revival of Travesties in London and New York, commented that "It's a big company play which as a director is incredibly exciting to do. It's got the lot."[8] During rehearsals he "instituted a fabulous regime of lectures" given by cast members, allotting each a subject relevant to the play's themes to investigate.[9]

Production history

West End (2020–2021)

Leopoldstadt's original run at Wyndham's — which had no seat unsold at any performance — was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, with the production temporarily shut down on 16 March 2020. On 25 October 2020 Leopoldstadt won the Olivier Award for Best New Play,[10] and Adrian Scarborough won for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.[11] After Covid restrictions were lifted in England the play re-opened and ran from 7 August to 30 October 2021.[12]

Stoppard told BBC Radio 4 that Leopoldstadt may be his last play[13] — though in October 2021 he acknowledged, in a CNN interview with Christiane Amanpour, that he was reconsidering: “I'm a playwright, by more than, as it were, labeling. I feel like somebody who writes plays while they're still alive.”[14]

The Wyndham's production's set design was by Richard Hudson, costumes by Brigitte Reiffenstuel, lighting by Neil Austin, sound and original music by Adam Cork and movement by EJ Boyle. Leopoldstadt is the sixth collaboration between Sonia Friedman Productions and Stoppard.[15] The 41 actors performing in the 2020 production were cast by Amy Ball (adults) and Verity Naughton (children). The initial cast list[16] was announced on 25 October 2019[17] and included Adrian Scarborough, Alexis Zegerman, Luke Thallon and Stoppard's son, Ed.[9]

Broadway (2022–2023)

The play had its North American premiere on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre when it started previews on 14 September 2022 and opened on 2 October.[18][19] Its originally intended North American premiere was to have taken place at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto,[20] for a seven-week engagement with the London cast, however it was announced that the run would no longer go ahead because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The theatre's owner, David Mirvish, said "... I'm not giving up on Leopoldstadt. I'm determined to present this magnificent play in Toronto sometime in the future when it is safe to do so."[21] Originally scheduled to run through March 2023, the Broadway run was extended to July 2023.[22] The production played its final performance on July 2, 2023.[23]

Non-English productions

John Malkovich staged the first Latvian language production of the play at Dailes Theatre which opened on 15 September 2023. Malkovich, having previously acted on the same stage, was approached by the theater's director who inquired about his interest in directing a play. “We spoke about a number of plays, but he was most excited about doing Leopoldstadt. And since I’m someone who has spent a lot of time in Vienna, have worked there many times, and have spent a good deal of time reading and experiencing Viennese history and culture, it was quite a natural thing for me to do,” Malkovich stated.[24] On this production he worked with the Dailes Theatre repertoire company, but employed his own frequent collaborators Pierre-François Limbosch & Birgit Hutter in the art department.

Cast & Characters
Character London Broadway
2020 2022
1899
Grandma Emilia Merz Caroline Gruber Betsy Aidem
Hermann Merz Adrian Scarborough David Krumholtz
Eva Merz Jakobovicz Alexis Zegerman Caissie Levy
Gretl Merz Faye Castelow
Ludwig Jakobovicz Ed Stoppard Brandon Uranowitz
Wilma Jakobovicz Kloster Clara Francis Jenna Augen
Ernst Kloster Aaron Neil
Hanna Jakobovicz Zenner Dorothea Myer-Bennett Colleen Litchfield
Pauli Jakobovicz Ilan Galkoff Drew Squire
Young Jacob Merz Jarlan Bogolubov
Daniel Lawson
Ramsay Robertson		 Joshua Satine
Aaron Shuf
Young Sally Kloster Maya Larholm
Libby Lewis
Beatrice Rapstone		 Reese Bogin
Romy Fay
Young Rosa Kloster Olivia Festinger
Tamar Laniado
Chloe Raphael		 Pearl Scarlett Gold
Ava Michele Hyl
Poldi Sadie Shimmin Gina Ferrall
Jana Natalie Law Sara Tophham
Hilde Felicity Davidson does not appear
1900
Fritz Luke Thallon Arty Froushan
1924
Hermine Zenner Floge Yasmin Paige Eden Epstein
Jacob Merz Sebastian Armesto Seth Numrich
Nellie Jakobovicz Rosenbaum Eleanor Wyld Tedra Millan
Sally Kloster Fischbein Avye Leventis Sara Topham
Rosa Kloster Jenna Augen
Aaron Rosenbaum Griffin Stevens Jesse Aaronson
Kurt Zenner Alexander Newland Daniel Cantor
Zac Fischbein Joe Coen Matt Harrington
Otto Floge Noof McEwan Japhet Balaban
Mohel Jake Neads Daniel Cantor
1938
Percy Chamberlain Sam Hoare Seth Numrich
Young Leo Rosenbaum Toby Cohen
Jack Meredith
Joshua Schneider		 Michael Deaner
Wesley Holloway
Cody Braverman
Young Nathan Fischbein Rhys Bailey Anthony Rosenthal
Mimi Fischbein Maya Larholm
Libby Lewis
Beatrice Rapstone		 Reese Bogin
Romy Fay
Bella Fischbein Olivia Festinger
Tamar Laniado
Chloe Raphael		 Pearl Scarlett Gold
Ava Michele Hyl
Heini Floge Zachary Cohen
Louis Levy
Montague Rapstone		 Max Ryan Burach
Calvin James Davis
Jaxon Cain Grundleger
Remy Cohen
Umzugshauptmannsleiter Schmidt Mark Edel-Hunt Corey Brill
Policemen Joe Coen
Jake Neads		 Jesse Aaronson
Matt Harrington
1955
Rosa Kloster Jenna Augen
Nathan Fischbein Sebastian Armesto Brandon Uranowitz
Leo Chamberlain Luke Thallon Arty Froushan

Synopsis

Leopoldstadt frames the narrative of a Jewish family in Vienna over a period of some 50 years. The main set is the drawing room of a wealthy family. There are five acts occurring in the years 1899, 1900, 1924, 1938 and 1955.

  • 1899: the family gathers for Christmas, discussing ideas ranging from Theodore Herzl's Zionism to Jewish and Viennese arts and culture. Family members have integrated well with Viennese society, and enjoy their rights and civil liberties. Hanna asks Gretl to chaperone her on a date with a non-Jewish cavalry officer, Fritz. Hermann’s nephew, Pauli, expresses an interest in becoming a soldier.
  • 1900: Gretl and Fritz strike up an affair, which Gretl eventually ends. Hermann gains knowledge of this, but ultimately dismisses Gretl's infidelity. The family gather for Passover Seder, celebrating the birth of Hermann’s niece, Nellie.
  • 1924: Jacob, the son of Hermann and Gretl, fought in World War I alongside Pauli. Pauli was killed in battle; Jacob survived but lost an eye and has one useless arm. The family gather for a circumcision. This act explores the impacts of the Great War and the rise of Bolshevism. Fearing for the worst, Hermann meets with a banker to discuss transferring the family business to Jacob.
  • 1938: the year of Anschluss. The family are gathered, with the company of a British journalist who is engaged to one of the girls in the family. The family discuss escape plans, including visas to England. The Nazis enter the property, harassing the family and seizing their belongings. The family's home is requisitioned by the Nazis and the family must leave to be transported the following day. Hermann is forced to sign the family business away to the Nazis, but Jacob retains legal ownership. It is revealed that Jacob is the legal son of Gretl and Fritz; Hermann planned and acknowledged the affair so that Jacob would not face antisemitism since he would be legally recorded as a gentile.
  • 1955: the survivors of the Holocaust gather in the family home. Only three family members survived: Leo, who successfully gained a British visa and assimilated into British culture; Rosa, who moved to New York before the Holocaust; and Nathan, who survived Auschwitz. Leo has no memory of his life in Vienna as a Jew; the family painfully recollect their memories and acknowledge their murdered family members.

Critical reception

The play has received critical acclaim. Theatre critic and journalist Dominic Cavendish wrote in The Telegraph, "So here it is. Tom Stoppard's last play. Very possibly. Britain's greatest living dramatist has said that Leopoldstadt is likely to be the end of the road – given his age (82) and how long it takes him to write. Almost every major work he has produced since he burst onto the scene with his Hamlet spin-off Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead in 1966 has been met with high anticipation."[25]

Whilst Lloyd Evans wrote in The Spectator, "History will record Leopoldstadt as Tom Stoppard's Schindler's List. His brilliant tragic-comic play opens in the Jewish quarter of Vienna in 1899. We meet a family of intellectuals and businessmen who are celebrating their very first Christmas. (...) At press night, the critics were busy scribbling one-liners which are destined to reach the dictionary of quotations. ‘Why do Jews have to choose between pushy and humble?’ ‘Today's modern is tomorrow's nostalgia: we missed Mahler when we heard Schoenberg.’"[26]

Greg Evans wrote in Deadline that with Leopoldstadt Stoppard delivered "a late career masterpiece." Evans added that "any summary of scenes and timeline descriptions of Leopoldstadt can’t begin to convey the richness of Stoppard’s work," noting that "mathematics, not surprisingly, comes into play, as it so often does with Stoppard, but so too does Zionism and modern art and so many other aspects of 20th Century political history that Leopoldstadt can at times seem like a right and proper companion piece to Ken Burns’ wonderful The U.S. and The Holocaust documentary."[27]

Adaptations

A live performance of the play was recorded towards the end of its second run and was screened as a film in UK cinemas (and some international locations) on 27 January 2022 (Holocaust Memorial Day) through National Theatre Live.[28]

Awards and nominations

Original West End Production
Year Award Category Nominee Result
2020 Laurence Olivier Award[29] Best New Play Won
Best Actor in a Supporting Role Adrian Scarborough Won

Original Broadway Production
Year Award Category Nominee Result
2023 Tony Awards Best Play Won
Best Direction of a Play Patrick Marber Won
Best Featured Actor in a Play Brandon Uranowitz Won
Best Scenic Design of a Play Richard Hudson Nominated
Best Costume Design of a Play Brigitte Reiffenstuel Won
Best Lighting Design of a Play Neil Austin Nominated
Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Play Won
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Play Brandon Uranowitz Won
Drama League Awards Outstanding Production of a Play Won
Distinguished Performance David Krumholtz Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Awards Outstanding New Broadway Play Won
Outstanding Direction of a Play Patrick Marber Won
Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play Brandon Uranowitz Won
Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) Brigitte Reiffenstuel Nominated
Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical) Neil Austin Nominated
Outstanding Video or Projection Design (Play or Musical) Isaac Madge Nominated
New York Drama Critics' Circle Award[30] Best Foreign Play Won

References
  1. "Tom Stoppard interview". YouTube.
  2. Maxwell, Dominic (29 June 2019). "Leopoldstadt, Tom Stoppard's new play". The Times. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  3. Brown, Mark (26 June 2019). "Jewish district inspires Tom Stoppard in 'personal' new play". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  4. Gordon, David (7 June 2022). "Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt to Open On Broadway This Fall". Theatermania.com. Retrieved 7 June 2022.
  5. "NT Live: Leopoldstadt". LondonNet.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  6. @NTLive (28 January 2022). "We're over the moon to have topped the UK & Ireland box office last night with Leopoldstadt! @SFP_London 😱" (Tweet). Retrieved 28 January 2022 – via Twitter.
  7. @MFr5854769 (27 January 2020). "We were given these memorial candles as we left the performance of Tom Stoppard's #Leopoldstadt. A particularly poignant date to see this powerful and personal play" (Tweet). Retrieved 29 January 2020 – via Twitter.
  8. Nathan, John (26 June 2019). "Tom Stoppard's first Jewish play announced". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  9. Jays, David (28 January 2020). "'My surname was an albatross': Ed Stoppard on starring in his dad's new play". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  10. Olivier Awards (25 October 2020). "Tweet from Olivier Awards announcing the winner of Best New Play". Twitter. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  11. Olivier Awards (25 October 2020). "Tweet from Olivier Awards announcing the winner of Best Actor in a Supporting Role". Twitter. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  12. "Leopoldstadt – 2021 West End Dates". Londonboxoffice.co.uk. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  13. Thorpe, Vanessa (8 February 2020). "Tom Stoppard reveals that Leopoldstadt may be his last play". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  14. Amanpour, Christiane; Lyons, Emmet; Olshansky, Ken (27 October 2021). "'Shakespeare in Love' screenplay writer Tom Stoppard said 'Leopoldstadt' would be his last play – now he's not so sure". CNN Style. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  15. "Leopoldstadt in the West End: first look at Tom Stoppard's new play in rehearsals". WhatsOnStage.com. 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  16. Brantley, Ben (12 February 2020). "Review: In 'Leopoldstadt,' Tom Stoppard Reckons With His Jewish Roots". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  17. Perks, Daniel (25 October 2019). "Leopoldstadt initial cast to include Adrian Scarborough and Luke Thallon". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  18. Putnam, Leah (8 April 2022). "Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt Coming to Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
  19. Paulson, Michael (7 June 2022). "Tom Stoppard's 'Leopoldstadt' Will Open on Broadway This Fall". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  20. "News: Last chance to see Leopoldstadt in the West End". The Theatre Cafe. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  21. "Press Release: Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadt Will No Longer Play Toronto in 2022". Mirvish Theatres. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  22. Evans, Greg (8 December 2022). "Tom Stoppard Hit 'Leopoldstadt' Gets Four-Month Broadway Extension". Deadline. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  23. Rosky, Nicole. "4 Broadway Shows Close Today". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  24. "INTERVIEW: John Malkovich on his latest Latvian project". eng.lsm.lv. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  25. Cavendish, Dominic (12 February 2020). "Leopoldstadt review, Wyndham's Theatre: Tom Stoppard delivers an unforgettable (perhaps final) play from the heart". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  26. Evans, Lloyd (15 February 2020). "A brilliant, unrevivable undertaking: Tom Stoppard's Leopoldstadr Reviewed". The Spectator. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  27. Evans, Greg (3 October 2022). "'Leopoldstadt' Broadway Review: Tom Stoppard Delivers A Late-Career Masterpiece". Deadline. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  28. "National Theatre Live to broadcast Kit Harington's Henry V, Hex, Leopoldstadt and The Book of Dust". WhatsOnStage.com. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  29. "Olivier Awards 2020 with Mastercard – Theatre's Biggest Night". Olivier Awards. 25 October 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  30. "2022-2023 Awards". www.dramacritics.org. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
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