Tom Stoppard's "Leopoldstadt" | THEATER: All the Moving Parts

This November episode of THEATER: All the Moving Parts” is about “Leopoldstadt”, Tom Stoppard’s new play about an assimilated Jewish family in Vienna caught in the vicious currents of antisemitism, from 1899 to 1953. Host Patrick Pacheco discusses the challenges of bringing the play to life, with actors Faye Castelow, Arty Froushan and Brendan Uranowitz, three of the 38 member cast. Then, Pacheco explores Tom Stoppard’s prodigious legacy as a playwright with Tony-winning Director Jack O’Brien, who has directed four of Stoppard’s plays, and CUNY Theater Historian James Armstrong.

“Leopoldstadt” is Stoppard’s most personal play, based upon discovering in his 50’s that his immediate family is Jewish and was mostly wiped out in the Holocaust. The actors talk about what it is like to act in a play based on Stoppard’s life and on that terrible period in history, a time with frightening echos in today's world. Arty Froushan plays the dual role of Fritz, the antisemitic soldier, and Leo, a young man who, even years after the war doesn’t know he is Jewish -- a clear stand-in for Stoppard. Froushan thinks Stoppard is writing about “atoning for his obliviousness or partially willful ignorance.” For Brandon Uranowitz, who plays Ludwig, the most prescient family member, and also Nathan, one of the few survivors from the family, the play “cracked him open” and shattered his sense of security about being a Jew today. Faye Castelow plays Gretl, the Gentile wife, who may actually be more "Jewish" than the rest of the family. Castelow talks about how available Tom Stoppard, “the oracle in the room”, was during the rehearsals in helping the cast understand this challenging play.

In the second segment, about Stoppard’s legacy, Jack O’Brien, the director of “Hapgood”, “The Invention of Love”, “The Hard Problem” and “The Coast of Utopia”, talks personally about Stoppard's best plays and his uniqueness. He calls Stoppard “One of the most remarkable human beings I have ever met. He adds, “There’s this monumental intelligence and there’s this real sense of not only humour but of humility about him.” James Armstrong, a theatre historian from CUNY, talks about his students learning Stoppard’s plays, and how accessible his writing is to them. Many people think that “Leopoldstadt” is Stoppard’s last play, but not O’Brien. “He is a playwright, so he ingests and writes. As long as that mind is working, he’s going to put pen and pencil to paper and make something out of it.”

"Theater: All the Moving Parts" is a one hour CUNY TV show, featuring in-depth interviews with top theater artists including playwright Theresa Rebeck, writer/director Harvey Weinstein, dramaturg Ken Cerniglia, intimacy director Claire Warden and lighting designer Natasha Katz. Of Pacheco, Rebeck said, “I felt like I was being interviewed by someone who knows me better than I know myself.”

Guest List:
James Amstrong, Associate Professor, City College
Faye Castelow, Actor, Leopoldstadt
Arty Foushan, Actor, Leopoldstadt
Jack O'Brien, Director
Brandon Uranowitz, Actor, Leopoldstadt

Tape date: 10/14/2022 First air date: 11/18/2022

On THEATER: All the Moving Parts, host Patrick Pacheco looks beyond the spotlight at the passionate and unheralded creative talents that are critical to the theatrical experience. From costumer designers to dramaturges and everything in between, Patrick looks at all the moving parts of a Broadway production.

Watch more at: https://tv.cuny.edu/homepage/show/the...

THEATER: All the Moving Parts playlist https://bit.ly/2N5eNLs​

Subscribe to the CUNY TV channel: https://bit.ly/2GmGb13
Follow CUNY TV:
Facebook:   / cunyedu  
Twitter:   / cuny  
Instagram:   / cunyedu  
YouTube:    / cunytv75  
LinkedIn:   / cunytv  
Find more from CUNY TV at https://tv.cuny.edu


THMP05003