33 VARIATIONS Makes Northwest Premiere at ArtsWest, Now thru 5/25

A mother coming to terms with her daughter. A composer coming to terms with his genius. And, even though they're separated by 200 years, these two people share an obsession that might, even just for a moment, make time stand still. Drama, memory and music combine to transport you from present-day New York to nineteenth-century Austria in this extraordinary American play about passion, parenthood and the moment of beauty that can transform a life. Nominated for five Tony awards, 33 Variations runs from today, May 1 - 25, 2013 at ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery in West Seattle.

In the present we see the musicologist, a mother who is grappling with Lou Gehrig's disease as well as a strained relationship with her daughter. At the same time she is pursuing her obsession with a grand mystery: why Beethoven, after initially declining an invitation to create a single variation of a mediocre waltz, suddenly changes his mind and composes not one variation but 33 over the course of five years. The result is what we know today as Beethoven's 33 Variations, or the Diabelli Variations, named after the composer who extended the composers' invitation. In the past, we see the aging and hearing impaired Beethoven, echoing Katherine's battle with physical illness in the present. He is in the throes of his obsession, which becomes a reprieve from the dramatic swings between hope and despair brought on by his illness. The play, which weaves between past and present, becomes, in essence, variations on a theme, as well as a symphony, with all the melodies, rhythms, crescendos, dissonance and harmony of human life.

33 Variations is the third stage play by Tony and Emmy-nominated director and playwright Moisés Kaufman. His other plays, The Laramie Project and Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, have been among the most performed plays in America over the last decade. Kaufman was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2002 and made his Broadway directing debut in the 2004 production of I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright, for which he received an Obie Award as well as Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lucille Lortel nominations.

The ArtsWest cast includes Jody McCoy as Dr. Katherine Brandt; Allison Standley as Clara Brandt, Mark Tyler Miller as Mike Clark, Matthew Gilbert as Ludwig van Beethoven, James Lyle as Anton Diabelli, Ruth McCree as Dr. Gertrude Ladenburger, Daniel Stoltenberg as Anton Schindler with Katie Koch playing the original Diabelli sketches from Beethoven.

33 Variations by Moisés Kaufman, directed by Christopher Zinovitch, will run at the ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery, located at 4711 California Ave SW, Seattle 98116, today, May 1 - 25, 2013; April 30 - Pay What You Can Preview. Showtimes: Wednesdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm; Sundays May 5, 12 and 19 at 3:00pm.

Tickets: $34.50 Adults / $31.00 Seniors / $12.00 (Under 25) / $10.00 TPS members. Box Office: Online at www.artswest.org or (206) 938-0339, Tues: 1-5pm; Wed - Sat: 2-7pm.

ArtsWest produces artistic events so fiercely compelling that they require conversation, improve the imagination, and promote cultural vibrancy as a core value for the communities of Seattle. ArtsWest is a registered 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization.

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