33 Variations
By: Moisés Kaufman
Co-directed by: Hannah Bell and Bryan Stevenson
Produced by: Theatre Arlington, Arlington, Texas
Audience Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 140 minutes (including 15-minute intermission)
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Available
Sensory Friendly Showing: Not Available
ASL Showing: Not Available
Sound Level: Comfortable
Audio/Visuals to Prepare For: References to illness and dying; mature themes
Reviewed by Stacey L. Simpson
Moisés Kaufman’s play 33 Variations weaves together two timelines, 200 years apart, to examine the power of music, artistic obsession, and the physical decline of the human body. Theatre Arlington’s production, as co-directed by Hannah Bell and Bryan Stevenson, succeeds by driving these big themes and interwoven story lines through clear, focused character motivations. As I left the theatre, I ruminated about the theme of needing more time to finish your life’s work; I was reminded of how this theme is explored in Hamilton and in Rent. It’s equally thought-provoking here.
In 19th-century Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven (played by Christian Sanders) becomes consumed by creating 33 distinct variations based on a simple (some would say “mediocre”) waltz composed by publisher Anton Diabelli (Michael Phillip Thomas). In the present day, Dr. Katherine Brandt (Krista Scott), a dedicated musicologist recently diagnosed with ALS, races against time and fights against the growing weakness in her body to try to understand why Beethoven spent years obsessing over what seemed like an ordinary piece. As her health declines, Katherine travels to Bonn, Germany to examine the original musical sketches written by the composer himself, while simultaneously trying to connect with her estranged daughter, Clara (Gabriela Ayala Yarbrough). Her failing body in the present day mirrors Beethoven's growing deafness and deteriorating health in the past.
The cast is uniformly excellent. Scott elegantly embodies the chilly Katherine with an academic’s sharp intellect and a need for control that is at odds with her gradual physical decline. Katherine wants to complete her academic life's work before her illness strips away her physical mobility and ability to communicate. Katherine is too exacting, overly proud, and hard to love, but Scott still manages to make us feel her pain, helplessness, and sorrow. Scott’s ability to gradually modify her limb movements, speech, and posture to show the progression of the disease was remarkable to behold. Katherine is an uncompromising and distant parent to daughter Clara. Yarborough’s brilliant portrayal of Clara was by turns yearning and frustrated and hurt.
Two hundred years in the past, Christian Sanders gives an energetic and convincing performance that brings to life Beethoven’s frustration and drive to prove his artistic legacy while coping with his worsening deafness as well as a multitude of financial problems. “Friend to Beethoven” Anton Schindler (Eduardo Velez III), Beethoven’s secretary, has the unenviable task of trying to keep his master on task - to no avail. Their push-and-pull dynamic creates a nice parallel to that of Katherine and Clara.
The rest of the outstanding supporting cast, including Deborah Brown as Gertie, a German academic who befriends the prickly Katherine, Michael Phillip Thomas as Beethoven super-fan and music publisher Diabelli, and John Marshall as nurse Mike Clark, fills out the surrounding worlds of both eras. They help breathe life and dimension into the core personal relationships and give us moments of gentle humor that help balance the more serious aspects of the play. The slow build-up of the romantic relationship between Mike and Clara was beautifully realized by talented young actors Marshall and Yarbrough (if you ever see either of these actors in a cast list, just go ahead and make plans to see whatever they’re in!).
Pianist Jeff Lankov provides live accompaniment atop a rotating stage, performing Beethoven’s compositions on a grand piano. This connects the past and present and helps to illustrate key points about Beethoven’s creative genius as applied to Diabelli’s modest musical foundation. The creative design team (with sound design by Victoria Esquibell, lighting and set design by Stevenson, and properties design by Sharon Kaye Miller) use dappled, moody lighting and huge, surrounding set pieces designed to look like music archives to blend the separate time periods and make good use of the performance space.
Theatre Arlington’s 33 Variations offers a thoughtful, well-acted live theatre experience for audiences interested in a story about human connection and the art that outlasts us. The production runs through August 30, 2026. Tickets available at theatrearlington.org
On with the show!
Stacey L. Simpson
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