Main Street Productions (Westfield Playhouse) is partnering with the ALS Association Indiana Chapter for a production of 33 Variations, a play by Moises Kaufman. The play is in part about Ludwig van Beethoven, a composer who went deaf beginning in his late 20s. In an interesting twist, the local pianist who will perform selections from Beethoven’s music, Kyle Thomas, has been deaf since birth.
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“Our pianist is legally deaf,” said Jan Jamison, director of this production of 33 Variations. “He’s been deaf since birth. You ought to hear him play. Ever since I’ve known this young man I’ve thought, ‘How does he do this?’ He’s taught himself piano and had lessons and it is just amazing. He knows his cues because he reads lips so well, so he knows when to start to play. It’s just phenomenal to me. Kyle is amazing!”
Jamison told The Reporter she thinks this production has a great deal to offer. There is a partnership with the ALS Association, a wonderful story and a great musician who cannot hear how good he really is.
“People need to come just to hear him play something,” Jamison said about Thomas. “It’s just incredible. I can’t say enough about him. It just made me tear up the first time I heard him play.”
Moises Kaufman is the author of 33 Variations and his main character is suffering from ALS. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a specific disease which causes the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles.
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“It is a story about a present-day musicologist,” Jamison said. “The play is set in 2009. She is writing a monograph on her theories, thoughts and research on why Beethoven wrote 33 variations on a very mediocre waltz that was written by Anton Diabelli. She has been diagnosed with ALS, so she is fighting a losing battle against time. She needs to get this done and satisfy her curiosity on why such a great musician would ever have done this.”
The play moves back and forth between 2009 and 1823-1824 when Beethoven was writing these 33 variations while he was becoming deaf.
According to Westfield Playhouse’s promotional material, the play is about a mother coming to terms with her daughter and a composer coming to terms with his genius. And, even though they’re separated by 200 years, these two people share an obsession that might, even just for a moment, make time stand still. It is an American play about passion, parenthood and the moments of beauty that can transform a life.
Westfield Playhouse Board President John C. Sampson said he finds the ALS partnership to be an important part of this production. According to Sampson, $2 of every ticket sold will be donated to the ALS Association.
Westfield Playhouse is located at 1836 W. State Road 32. Call (317) 402-3341 or visit westfieldplayhouse.org for more information.