Mixed Reviews for Beethoven on Broadway

Posted at 10:30 AM on March 10, 2009 by Gillian Martin
Filed under: Ludwig van Beethoven

Back in November I posted a note about 33 Variations, a play about a musicologist trying to unravel one last Beethoven mystery before she dies.

Well, the play has opened, and the reviews suggest the show has a lot of potential, but doesn't quite soar:

From the New York Times (registration required): "Ms. [Jane] Fonda's layered crispness is, I regret to add, a contrast to Mr. Kaufman's often soggy play..."

From the Washington Post: "On this occasion, [Jane Fonda] not only manages to transcend time, but also the material. For '33 Variations' . . . marks a pleasing Broadway return for Fonda, even if it's little more than a handsomely annotated music lesson."