(WEST WINDSOR, NJ) -- Pierrot Productions presents 33 Variations from November 19 through December 4 at Mercer County Community College’s (MCCC’s) Kelsey Theatre located at 1200 Old Trenton Road in West Windsor Township. 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. The story begins when 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 (Susan Green Hoffman of Florence). 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 include: Friday, November 19 at 8:00pm; Saturday, November 20 at 8:00pm; Sunday, November 21 at 2:00pm; Saturday, November 27 at 2:00pm & 8:00pm; Sunday, November 28 at 2:00pm; Friday, December 3 at 8:00pm; and Saturday, December 4 at 2:00pm & 8:00pm

Tickets are $18 for children, students and senior citizens, and $20 for adults. To purchase tickets visit kelseytheatre.org, call the Box Office at 609-570-3333 or order directly online. Private performances and group rates are available to ALS support and music appreciation groups upon request.

Kelsey Theatre is located on the Mercer County Community College campus at 1200 Old Trenton Road, West Windsor Township, NJ. The theater is wheelchair accessible and free parking is available next to the building. Assisted listening devices are available upon request. Please note that proof of vaccination or negative Covid test within 48 hours is required at the door, and masks are required to be worn inside the theater.

“At Kelsey Theatre, we have pledged to take active steps in creating true diversity, equity and inclusion in our productions through systemic policy change and individual accountability -- aiming to foster an inclusive environment for people of all races, genders, nationalities, creeds, sexual orientation, socio-economic status and abilities.” –The Kelsey Team

PHOTO: Mort Paterson of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (left) as Anton Schindler, Mark Applegate of Washington Crossing as Anton Diabelli and Peter de Mets of Newtown, Pennsylvania (at piano) as Ludwig van Beethoven in “33 Variations.” (Photo credit: MCCC)