Vienna in 1900 was the most vibrant city in Europe, humming with artistic and intellectual excitement and a genius for enjoying life. A tenth of the population were Jews. A generation earlier they had been granted full civil rights by the Emperor, Franz Josef. Consequently, hundreds of thousands fled from the Pale and the pogroms in the East and many found sanctuary in the crowded tenements of the old Jewish quarter, Leopoldstadt. Tom Stoppard's passionate drama of love and endurance begins in the last days of 1899 and follows one extended family deep into the heart of the 20th Century.
It is, unfortunately, not a very good play. Though intelligently directed by Patrick Marber as a drawing room drama perpetually intruded upon by antisemitism, it manages to say very little during its 2-hour-without-intermission runtime. Stoppard apparently had not realized his own connection to Judaism until the 1990s, and the suddenness of his engagement with these themes is evident. His characters, the males one at least, spend the better part of the first hour explaining antisemitism to each other in increasingly dull ways. As such, it is a 'now more than ever' / 'til it happens to you' hit parade that extinguishes not only dramatic tension but any sort of dynamic engagement with what little plot there is, aside from a love triangle early on that coalesces into absolutely nothing.
Smartly, Stoppard did not write Leopoldstadt as a Holocaust play. Impending doom lurks in Adam Cork's chilling score, but otherwise, the show is a lively, rich family drama. We're invited into the Merz-Jacobowitzes' commonplace gatherings, debates, trysts, squabbles, and playtimes as though we, too, are kin. There's a healthy helping of intellectual talk — Stoppard's specialty — but it's not esoteric, and in the hands of a superb Brandon Uranowitz, who gets to philosophize the most as the mathematician Ludwig, it's endlessly captivating. Plus, subjects like math are just as often the butt of jokes, of which there are plenty. Stoppard also warms us up to the characters with his trademark witty humor; a misunderstanding between a circumciser and a cigar cutter even provides a full-blown laugh-out-loud moment.
Price: $25
How: Available on the day of the performance.
Where: Longacre Theatre box office
Time: 10 AM Monday-Saturday, 12 PM Sunday
ID: valid student ID required
Payment Method: Cash or credit card
Tickets Per Person: Limit 2
Seat Locations: Determined at the discretion of the box office
Number of Tickets Available: Subject to daily availability.
Price: $47
Where: https://leopoldstadtlotteryandrush.com/
When: Select the number of tickets you want to purchase and click the "Enter" button. Available performances are typically posted as early as 12:00 AM Eastern Time the day before the performance. Lotteries close at 3:00 PM the day before the performance. Additional drawings may be added from time to time and the timing of these drawings may vary.
Winners will have six hours to complete their purchase on this website for regularly scheduled drawings. Click through the Results page of this website or your email notification or your text notification for instructions. The purchase period may vary for additional drawings. Tickets will be emailed.
Limit: Two per customer
Information: Seats may be located in any section of the theater. While every effort will be made to seat pairs together with a full view, there is a chance that pairs may be split up and that your seat may have a partial view of the stage.
2021 | West End |
West End Premiere West End |
2022 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Brandon Uranowitz |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Play | Tom Stoppard |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | David Krumholtz |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Production of a Play | Leopoldstadt |
2023 | New York Drama Critics Circle Awards | Best Play | Tom Stoppard |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Costume Design (Play or Musical) | Brigitte Reiffenstuel |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Patrick Marber |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play | Brandon Uranowitz |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical) | Neil Austin |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Play | Leopoldstadt |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Video or Projection Design (Play or Musical) | Isaac Madge |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Brigitte Reiffenstuel |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Patrick Marber |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Neil Austin |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Brandon Uranowitz |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Play | Leopoldstadt |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | Richard Hudson |
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