Theater review: 33 Variations at Theatre Three in Dallas

by Carol Anne Gordon of John Garcia's The Column

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This is an uplifting and soul-satisfying night of theatre which shouldn't be missed.

During my junior year in high school, I spent spring break visiting the prestigious Indiana University Music School in Bloomington, thinking I wanted to major in, and make a career of, classical piano playing. But once I arrived and saw a two-page waiting list to get into a practice room at 3 a.m., endure below-freezing nights during Indiana's "spring," and got a "what's that?" from a waitress when I ordered a Dr Pepper, I decided the next best thing I was good at (Spanish) would become my major and my livelihood instead.

But music is still my avocation, and piano is still my passion. So the plot of 33 Variations (playing at Theatre Three in Dallas through October 30) intrigued me immensely: A musicologist who is dying from ALS leaves New York -- and her strained relationship with her adult daughter -- to go to Europe to research why Ludwig van Beethoven spent years writing 33 different variations of a simple little waltz composed by an insignificant little music publisher. In Germany and Austria, she slowly carves out a friendship with an archivist who allows her entry into the inner sanctum of Beethoven's records, and eventually, she confronts not just her terminal illness, but also her professional and personal legacies.

The action moves seamlessly between Beethoven and his contemporaries in the early 19th century to Dr. Brandt in New York, Bonn, and Vienna in the early 21st century. At times the action in both centuries overlaps and intertwines, as Beethoven's descent into deafness parallels Brandt's decline into her terminal illness. The actors have great chemistry, and work together very naturally and believably, whether dealing with the impending loss of a loved one or starting out tentatively on a new romance.

Andrew Kasten, playing the caregiver for the musicologist and the wannabe significant other of her daughter, makes me wish men like his character of Mike really existed in the world. (Sigh.) Sharon Garrison, as musicologist Katherine Brandt, does an excellent job of slowly succumbing to the physical failings of ALS. She and Lydia Mackay, who plays her daughter Clara, reveal a believable journey through mistrust to reconciliation as the show progresses.

The three 19th century characters, R. Bruce Elliott as Beethoven, Gordon Fox as his assistant Schindler, and Jackie L. Kemp as the music publisher Diabelli, easily allow you to suspend disbelief whenever their characters take the stage, or the inventive backlit scrim, with their clever and humorous interplay. I'm happy to report that the accents used, when they were used, were letter perfect in both pronunciation and prosody. Y'all know that accents are a pet peeve of mine, but in this show, Director Alder wisely chose to let those who could do accents correctly (Jackie L. Kemp and Terry McCracken) do them superbly. In fact, McCracken, whom I've seen perform many times over the decades, was so totally immersed in her character's accent and demeanor that I didn't even recognize her! I was surprised after the show to find her name in the program as a cast member.

Just when I think Theatre Three can't impress me any more with their amazing set designs, they prove me wrong yet again! Director/Set Designer Jac Alder has created an elegant, pure space which completely whisks you into the scene, whether it's in the 19th or 21st century, or a little of both. The perfect lighting and smooth set changes, also Theatre Three trademarks, are executed with textbook precision.

I especially enjoyed Sound Designer Richard Frohlich's method of letting us experience Beethoven's encroaching deafness along with him. Well, "enjoyed" is probably not the right word – "endured" is probably better, because he made us empathize with the frustration and irony of a great composer's losing, of all things, his hearing.

Towards the end of the play, my heart was in my throat for actress Sharon Garrison, as she undergoes a gut-wrenching CT scan that the audience suffers through right along with her. Her acting never faltered, not even when she was ... well, I have to be careful not to reveal any spoilers here because the effect of this scene needs to be experienced without any previous knowledge. Suffice it to say, she really trusts Master Carpenter Drew Wall, Production Crew Elizabeth Lowe and Katherine Marchant, Scenic Artist David Walsh, Set Designer Jac Alder, and her own cast mates to keep her safe during a scary bit of stage business that defies gravity.

The live music, performed by Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Finalist Clark Griffith, is superb. Griffith plays several of Beethoven's 33 variations during the play, and more than a few of his breathtaking presentations of these pieces caused the play's action to hold while the audience burst into spontaneous and appreciative applause. The variations themselves are an important character in the play – each one having its own attitude, emotions, and soul.

Which leads me to address the big question: is this play accessible for theatre-goers who may not be big fans of classical music? Yes. Yes! Oh, yes. Easy for me, a frustrated concert pianist, to say, you think? No, I was surrounded by audience members with little or no musical training, and they were every bit as entranced by this play as I was. Understanding the music is the goal of the two main characters (Beethoven and Brandt), but feeling the music will be the result for any audience member who attends this inventive presentation, no matter their background in music or the classics.

We've all been to musicals where there are some songs which have lyrics that move the plot along, and other songs which are just stuck in the show because the second leads needed a duet before intermission. But this music – which is completely without lyrics – not only advances the plot, it is essential to the scenes taking place during and around it. There's no need to be scared by the high-falutin', high brow, long-haired music that is so superbly performed in this show. Instead, you'll find that the music itself will probably become your favorite character on the stage. And that's saying something, because the actors make their characters so endearing and believable.

This is an uplifting and soul-satisfying night of theatre which shouldn't be missed. There are even special performances (Sunday, October 24 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, October 27 at 2 p.m.) where all tickets are only $10. That's less than you would have spent to hear Griffith when he performed at the Van Cliburn, and you'll get the amazing acting and story to go along with the splendid music to boot.

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