No additional casting was revealed for the play about a music historian seeking to understand Beethoven's obsession with a waltz as she struggles with illness, and spars with her grown daughter.
Opening night is set for Feb. 9, 2011. The famed film actress had been away from Broadway for more than 40 years before taking the role in Kaufman's drama in a limited run in spring 2009. The play shifts in time between the present day at the early 19th-century of composer Beethoven.
The music-filled 33 Variations — with music played live on a piano, in fact — was nominated for a total of five Tony Awards, including Best Play. It will be part of the Mark Taper Forum's 2011 subscription season, and will be offered as a bonus option to Ahmanson Theatre season ticket holders.
According to CTG, "In 33 Variations, the audience is transported back and forth from present-day New York to 19th-century Austria, when a musicologist (Fonda) is determined to solve the musical mystery of why Beethoven spent his last years feverishly writing 33 variations of what appeared to be a mediocre waltz created by his publisher. Even though she has been diagnosed with a serious disease, the scholar dismisses her daughter's concerns and flies to Europe to study Beethoven's original papers. It is here that a heartfelt and moving story unfolds of how two remarkable individuals separated by 200 years defy mortality for a short, precious time and revel in their respective passions."
Read Playbill.com's 2009 Brief Encounter interview with Fonda, known for the films "Klute," "Coming Home," "The China Syndrome," "On Golden Pond" and more. The complete 2011 Mark Taper Forum season will be announced this summer, and as part of the season package, 33 Variations will go on sale to Taper season ticket holders. Ahmanson season ticket holders will be able purchase the play as a bonus option to their Ahmanson subscription. In late October, 33 Variations will be on sale to the general public. For information and to charge season tickets by phone, call the Exclusive Season Ticket Hotline at (213) 972-4444. To purchase subscriptions on-line, visit CenterTheatreGroup.org.
