“Leopoldstadt” Uses Simple Methods to Tell a Beautiful, Complex Story

Photo by Joan Marcus.

The opinions reflected in this OpEd are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, faculty and students of The King's College.

The latest play to transfer to Broadway from London’s West End is “Leopoldstadt,” a look into the Jewish experience in Europe during the first half of the twentieth century. The play follows the lives of the members of the Merz and Jakobovicz family tree. It spans their optimism about acceptance into European high society, their vision of the future in a new socialist Austria, the rise of Naziism and the destruction of the Holocaust. Directed by Patrick Barber and written by Tom Stoppard (of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” fame), the show opened at the Longacre Theatre on Sunday, October 2.

This play isn’t about technical achievement, the horrors of the Holocaust or even a particular hero or heroine. This play is about stories, both the ones we remember and the ones we forget. Instead of portraying the familiar hero’s story of overcoming the antisemitism and evil of Naziism and European aristocracy, “Leopoldstadt” focuses on the broken tragedy of one family’s history in Vienna.

The play is divided into five short acts without an intermission, spanning from the year 1899 into the 1950s. Each act portrays a scene in the living room of an extended Jewish family. Even though we never see our characters outside of the singular room, the sometimes mundane, sometimes emotional and life-changing conversations between generations of family members paint us a vivid portrait of the joys and agonies of their lives.

“Leopoldstadt” features a massive cast of 38 actors as the members of a large, extended family—many of them portraying characters aging throughout their lives. 

The performances are mostly forgettable and take a back seat to the overall story, with the exceptions of Jenna Augen as Rosa, Faye Castello as Gretl and Brandon Uranowitz as Ludwig. These three characters — an Austrian socialite who lost her identity and dignity, a professor who lost his career and an American Jew who lost her family — each represent a piece of the Jewish story in Europe during the rise of Naziism.

The narrative is generally easy to follow and the passage of time between each act is mostly well-established. Each time the audience returns to the characters and their home at the start of a new act, there is a mixture of familiar faces and newcomers to the family tree. The family members to keep track of do accumulate a bit too quickly, but the key characters are memorable enough to avoid getting lost in the crowd. 

“Leopoldstadt” follows the recent trend of minimalist sets on Broadway with scenic design by Richard Hudson and lighting design by Neil Austin. Where the production elements really shine, though, is in the period costumes of Brigitte Reiffenstuel which beautifully represent the changing culture and style of Austria from the Victorian Age to the roaring 20s and into the modern era.

The greatest weaknesses of “Leopoldstadt” are the poorly explained recastings of several young characters between acts as they grow into adults and the awkward, implausible setup for the fifth and final act of the play. This final act is a powerful and beautifully acted reunion of the surviving members of the main family following the Holocaust. While it is a powerful depiction of the various perspectives of Jewish people following this tragedy, it comes across as being forced into the narrative, leaving the play’s most important scene as more of an abstract discussion of the play’s themes of guilt, humanity and endurance than a continuation of the plot.

Likely to be one of Tom Stoppard’s final new plays, “Leopoldstadt” makes for an evening of compelling drama—and a little bit of humor—that presents a look at a familiar topic in a rare, nuanced light. It’s an important perspective that ought to be a lot less rare than it is.

Leopoldstadt is currently running at the Longacre Theatre.

Eli Johnson is the Theatre Columnist for the Empire State Tribune. He is a freshman at The King's College majoring in Business. He is an avid theatre-goer and always enjoys a game of chess.