WEST WINDSOR – Pierrot Productions is proud to present “33 Variations” at Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC’s) Kelsey Theatre March 13 through 22. 

Written by Moisés Kaufman (of “The Laramie Project” fame), “33 Variations” is a fascinating story inspired by one of classical music’s most enduring riddles: Why did Beethoven, during his final years, write 33 different variations of a seemingly insignificant waltz by a minor composer?

Kaufman’s play, which made its Broadway debut in 2009, cleverly toggles between contemporary times in New York and early 19th century Vienna:

Modern-day music scholar, Katherine Brandt, is driven to explore the rationale behind Ludwig van Beethoven’s preoccupation with creating nearly three dozen variations of a humble waltz by a composer named Anton Diabelli. Beethoven’s obsession fuels Brandt’s obsession as their two worlds coexist on stage. Both characters face afflictions and are running out of time. Brandt suffers with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease) and a broken mother-daughter relationship while Beethoven, entering the final years of his life, struggles with severe hearing loss.  

The play, directed by Kat Ross Kline of Marlton, is accented and uplifted by a live pianist. An essential component of the play, the pianist “mirrors the variation form of Beethoven’s great work with a fugue of interwoven themes and a graceful minuet finale” as described in an Oxford University Press blog by William Kinderman, a professor of musicology at the University of Illinois, whom the playwright had visited when shaping the play.

The cast includes: Melissa Connell of Marlton as Dr. Katherine Brandt, Katy Widmer of Hamilton as Clara Brandt, Thom Boyer of Hamilton as Mike Clark, Peter de Mets of Newtown, Pa. as Ludwig van Beethoven, Mark Applegate of Washington Crossing as Anton Diabelli, Susan Blair of Philadelphia, Pa. as Dr. Gertrude Ladenburger, Mort Paterson of Philadelphia, Pa. as Anton Schindler, Bill Rose of Princeton Junction as Nurse/Passenger and Gail Rose of Princeton Junction as Nurse/Passenger. Susan Green Hoffman of Florence plays a key role in the production as the live pianist.

The production team includes: Associate Producer, Kyla Donnelly of Levittown, Pa,; Stage Manager, Hannah Knight of Bordentown; Sound Manager, Evan Paine of Lawrence; and Costumes, Ruth Schanbacher of Yardley, Pa.

Performance Dates

Friday, March 13 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 14 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 15 at 2 p.m.
Friday, March 20 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 21 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 22 at 2 p.m.

Tickets

Tickets are $19 for children, students and senior citizens, and $21 for adults. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling the Kelsey Box Office at 609-570-3333. Private performances and group rates are available to ALS support and music appreciation groups upon request. 

Kelsey Theatre is located on the MCCC campus at 1200 Old Trenton Road in West Windsor Township. The theatre is wheelchair accessible and free parking is available next to the theatre. Assisted listening devices are available upon request. For a complete listing of events, visit the Kelsey website at www.KelseyTheatre.org or call the box office for a brochure.

Kelsey Schedule
Kelsey Theatre Website
Audition Information
MCCC Home Page

Mort Paterson of Philadelphia, Pa. (left) as Anton Schindler, Mark Applegate of Washington Crossing as Anton Diabelli and Peter de Mets of Newtown, Pa. (at piano) as Ludwig van Beethoven in “33 Variations.” The play runs from March 13 through March 22 at the Kelsey Theatre on the Mercer County Community College Campus, 1200 Old Trenton Road in West Windsor.

Gale Rose and Bill Rose of Princeton Junction in Moisés Kaufman's play “33 Variations,” about Beethoven's obsession with writing variations of an uninspired waltz, opens on Friday, March 13 at MCCC’s Kelsey Theatre. Private performances and group rates are available to ALS groups and music appreciation groups upon request.

Melissa Connell of Marlton as Dr. Katherine Brandt and Susan Blair of Philadelphia, Pa. as Dr. Gertrude Ladenburger.