Review: The Pianist of Willesden Lane (Eighty-Eight Entertainment)

  
  
The Pianist of Willesden Lane 

Adapted and Directed by Hershey Felder  
at Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted (map)
thru May 12  |  tickets: $44-$49   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
   Read entire review
  

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A personal musical Holocaust story

Eighty-Eight Entertainment presents

Willesden Lane

Review by Keith Glab

Chicago has become accustomed to Hershey Felder’s signature style of musical storytelling, which Felder has down to a formula. Indeed, his one-man show An American Story only closed a week before the similarly-structured The Pianist of Willesden Lane opened at the same venue.

Felder doesn’t perform in his latest adaptation. Rather, he directs accomplished pianist Mona Golabek portraying her mother, Lisa Jura, as a 14-year old Jewish girl who travels on the Kindertransport from Vienna to London just prior to the outbreak of World War II. The middle child of three daughters, Lisa is selected to use the family’s only ticket because of her gift of playing the piano. The story follows her trials as a young teen foraging on her own during the London Blitz up through her graduation from the London Royal Academy of Music.

If you’re worried about an overly melodramatic production, given the subject matter and the actor’s closeness to the material, Golabek allays those concerns with an astonishingly detached performance. This detachment is Golabek’s greatest feat of acting. The musician displays perfect posture, projection, and annunciation, but does so to the point where she seems artificial and does not resemble a 14-year old whatsoever. She does not appear comfortable onstage, her arms hanging awkwardly at her sides as though she doesn’t know what to do with her hands when they are not touching ivory. Her lack of theatrical training becomes even more evident when she tries to portray other characters during the performance, her German and British accents sounding as if they haven’t been rehearsed.

But it doesn’t take an expert on music to see that Golabek is an incredibly talented pianist. The beautiful music she plays is filled with emotion and technically flawless, even as she delivers her lines. She is able to execute this performance without guidance from a conductor or sheet music. It’s some of the most beautiful piano music I’ve ever heard, and certainly the most impressive playing given the circumstances.

There isn’t much to the set beyond the grand piano that dominates center stage, but four ornate picture frames on the back wall add some interest to the tableau. Projections ranging from family photos to footage of London bombings are placed inside these picture frames, giving the audience something to occupy their eyes besides Golabek’s stoic countenance.

It’s hard not to question the direction taken here. What is the purpose of having Golabek deliver this performance just to have her suppress her emotional affect? If the goal is to have a straightforward, dispassionate delivery that allows the story to speak for itself, a professionally trained actor could certainly have done a better job with the acting and storytelling. That actor could be accompanied by Golabek on the piano. With Golabek portraying her mother, an opportunity exists for genuinely powerful emotion that most theater strives to achieve, and it’s a shame that this wasn’t allowed to happen.

Despite the extremely safe and simple acting, The Pianist of Willesden Lane offers a lot to audiences due to the compelling story and gorgeous music. If you have considerable interest in this dark period in history or simply want to hear terrific piano music played in a narrative context, then this is a show for you.

Rating: ★★½

Willesden Lane continues through May 12th at Royal George Theatre, 1641 N. Halsted (map), with performances Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays 2pm and 8pm, Sundays 3pm.  Tickets are $44-$49, and are available by phone (312-988-9000) or online through Tickemaster.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at TheRoyalGeorge.com.  (Running time: 95 minutes without intermission)

Photos by Michael Lamont

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artists

cast

Mona Golabek (Lisa Jura)

behind the scenes

Hershey Felder (director), Trevor Hay (asst. director, set design), David Buess (set design), Erik Carstensen (sound design, production manager); Chris Rynne (lighting), Greg Sowizdrzal (projections), Andrew Wilder (projections), Matt Marsden (technical director, production manager), Brett Taylor (stage manager), Michael Lamont (photos)

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