BWW Reviews: THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE at Hartford Stage Company

Historically accurate, THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE at Hartford Stage Company is genuinely uplifting due to the tremendous virtuosity of Mona Golabek, the sole performer. This is especially true as she uses the piano to tell a story that matters deeply to her: her own mother's life.

Ms. Golabek's mother, Lisa Jura, was one of three daughters in a middle-class Jewish family in Vienna. She studied piano with a well-known teacher as a child. But once Nazi ideology became law after the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria in March of 1938, those lessons stopped. The dangers faced by the Jewish community of Vienna exploded into a wave of violence on Kristallnacht in November of 1938, when synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses across the expanding Reich were desecrated and destroyed. Shortly thereafter, heroic efforts led to the Kindertransports: train evacuations of Jewish children, without their parents, from Berlin, Vienna, and other population centers under Nazi control through Holland to the English Channel. From there, the children boarded ships bound for England, where they were placed with relatives, host families, or in group homes.

Spots on the Kindertransport trains were limited, and tickets hard to come by. Lisa Jura's parents managed to acquire just one, and chose Lisa as the daughter to send to safety. She carried little with her besides sheet music. THE PIANIST OF WILLESDEN LANE runs about 90 minutes with no intermission, and tells the story of her survival and eventual triumph. A community of friends and supporters gradually assembles around the isolated girl who plays piano with so much heart.

It's an extraordinary story of human courage, cooperation, and talent. What lifts it here into the realm of art is how beautifully Ms. Golabek plays the piano, a Steinway grand that dominates a black and gold set. Segments of Beethoven, Grieg, Mozart, Debussy, Scriabin, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and more are interspersed with straightforward narration about events and personalities, all delivered by Ms. Golabek, dressed in simple black concert clothes. Taught to play the piano by her mother, Ms. Golabek has great delicacy of touch and speed but also a lot of power. Her interpretations are full of feeling.

She's been performing this piece since 2012, but this is the East Coast premiere. She had expert help from Hershey Felder, who adapted and directed the piece, from Golabek's book, THE CHILDREN OF WILLESDEN LANE, co-written with Lee Cohen. A pianist and actor himself, Felder tours a number of one-man shows (GEORGE GERSHWIN ALONE, HERSHEY FELDER AS IRVING BERLIN, etc.) of his own. He's devised a seamless evening, enhanced by projections of historic photos that fill the large gold frames suspended around the stage. Most of these are family photos; none are graphic or violent. Ms. Golabek begins and ends the play speaking directly to the audience, and makes herself available after the show to sign copies of the book.

History buffs or anyone who loves classical piano will find this evening of theater very satisfying. It would be a great gift for anyone studying piano, especially if they sit house center left where they can watch the pianist's hands on the keyboard! The show runs through April 26.

Photo credit: mellopix.com

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