“Leopoldstadt”

*****  Writers Theatre in Glencoe has always been a favorite of mine. The main stage ( the Alexandrra C & John D. Nichols stage) is designed with stadium seating so there is no head bobbing to see the action on the stage. We are looking down on it , unless you are in rows a, b and possibly c. They also bring in productions that are powerful and in many cases, educational as well. Over the years, they have also worked closely with several directors and playwrights to ensure that their audiences get the best of the best. On this stage, at present is a very special production of Tom Stoppard’s “Leopoldstadt”, his very last play, directed to perfection by Carey Perloff. Based on the notes for this one, Stoppard and Perloff reworked the Broadway script to fit the needs and stage at Writers and Writers has the largest ( local) cast they have ever had on their stage for this one.

The story is about a Jewish family that takes us through their history by eras. The play begins in 1899, then proceeds to 1924, followed by 1938, and finally 1955.  The family lives in Vienna, Austria and is a very happy family . They are a Jewish family, although some of the bloodlines were crossed along the way, making some of the family members only a portion Jewish. We do watch them celebrate Christmas but with a Star of David on the top of the small tree.

Over the series of scenes in the two act play, we watch the family see the changes that are happening in their country. They also speak about a land for the Jewish population and how wonderful it would be for the Jewish population to be where they are not threatened or outcasts.  There are those who see this play as Stoppard’s biography in ways as he himself was born a czech, but raised in England and during his youth lost all touch with his Jewish heritage and roots. Once you witness the final scene in this play, it will become very clear to you that this is indeed a sort of look at his life but through the eyes of  this family. In reading the notes, one can also see that this was Perloff’s legacy as well. There is indeed a great deal of heart and soul in this beautiful story and this amazing cast of actors, the largest on the stage at Writers, makes it all come alive.

Many of the cast members play more than one single role, and do it with great emotion. Barbara Robertson as Grandma Emilia ( and the Matriarch), Ian Barford as her son Hermann ( a magnificent performance) and his wife, Gretl ( the always reliable Kate Fry), are just a sampling of the performers in this production. As I said the cast is huge and here are the others: Joey Slotnick, Sarah Coakley Price, Sean Fortunato, Emma Rosenthal, Rachel Jones, Erik Hellman, Jessie Fisher, Hanna Dworkin, Grainne Ortlieb, Morgan Medina, Asha Dale Hopman, Adeline Rosenthal, Ella Boparel, Theo Clark Leber, Levi Charney, Caleb Scherr, Sebastian Rus, Brenna Stacker, Sam Bell-Gurwitz, Andrew Mueller and Justin Albinder,. I think I got them all- they were all perfect!

The tech side of the production was also flawless. The set (Ken McDonald) was brilliant and quite realistic. Over the years, the walls remained the same, but we were able to see time going by and changes with great ease. The costumes (Alex Jaeger) were fantastic and fit the eras. I think the tie widths might have been off a bit, but needless to say, that is not a problem in a period play. The lighting (Keith Perham) and sound (Jane Shaw, who’s original music is quite haunting) helped to set the moods as the times changed. The props by Rae Watson were many and well done. The older bags and suitcases were amazingly accurate for the time periods. Tommy Rapley handled the choreography and intimacy direction and the wigs, hair and make-up by Tom Watson were perfect. There was a little violence and that direction was handled by Amber Wuttke) and in this production we also had Jewish Cultural Consultants ( not a typical Playbill classification), and they were Rabbi David Champan and Jonathan Chapman.

This is not  a story to bring us down, but instead to show how families can learn how fortune can be either good or bad, as well as how a family and its history is relatable to one another. Writers is adding a great deal of lectures, conversations and community events to go with this marvelous production- www.writerstheatre.org 

Many of these are free, but reservations will be needed boxoffice@writerstheatre.org

“Leopoldstadt” will continue thru August 9th with performances as follows:

Wednesdays   2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Thursdays      7:30 p.m.

Fridays           7:30 p.m.

Saturdays      2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Sundays       2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Special performances

OPEN CAPTIONED    June 25th

ASL-Interpreted         June 27th  2 p.m.

Pay What You Can Performance   June 21st  7 p.m.

Tickets start at $35 and are available by calling box office at 847-242-6000 or at

Writers Theatre is located at 325 Tudor Court in Glencoe.

Plenty of free parking ( including the Metra station) and you can take the train with a depot at Park Avenue/Glencoe, a block from the theater.

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Leopoldstadt”.