A young American Jewish pianist, Stephan Hoffman, a former child prodigy, finds himself creatively blocked. So he goes to Vienna, capital of Austria and the heartland of Western classical music, to study with a famous piano teacher.
However, not only does he end up in Austria at the time (1986) that its populace elects former Nazi officer Kurt Waldheim to its presidency, but the piano teacher decides that Hoffman should learn about accompanying instead of doing further solo work.
So Hoffman gets sent to singing teacher Professor Mashkan, a man given to making off-hand anti-Semitic remarks.
And as if this isn’t enough, Hoffman’s father agrees to pay for the trip provided that Hoffman visits the site of the Nazi murder camp Dachau and learns something about the Holocaust and about his Jewish identity.
Musician-turned-playwright Jon Marans took these ingredients and mixed them with the classic 1840 song-cycle “Dichterliebe” (“Poet’s Love”) by the great German composer Robert Schumann and the great German Jewish poet Heinrich Heine.
The result is the play “Old Wicked Songs” that was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize in 1996 and that Milwaukee’s In Tandem Theatre Company will present March 5-22 at the Tenth Street Theatre, 628 N. 10th St.
In a telephone interview, In Tandem artistic director Chris Flieller said that he and his wife Jane, the company administrative director, chose this play because “it’s a gorgeous piece” that “speaks to universal themes.”
“What is art? How is it created? How can it be relevant to everybody?” are some of the questions it explores, he said.
In addition, “for me, the show is also about honesty and responsibility, taking responsibility for the circumstances in your own life and being honest about everything,” said Flieller.
“To me there can be no artistic creation without honesty,” he continued. “It is an honest expression of who I am and communicating who I am to you. When there’s emotional blocks in life, self-imposed or from external experiences, we have to cleanse ourselves of those in order to approach artistic creation.”
The two characters of this play, Hoffman and Mashkan, played by Chase Stoeger and Richard Carsey in this production, “bring into the room baggage that is not allowing them to make a full connection with themselves or with the music,” said Flieller.
Eventually, through engagement with “Dichterliebe,” songs from which are featured at various points in the play, they are able to help each other “cleanse themselves” of that baggage. The resulting play is “a complex and rich piece; and, of course, the music is gorgeous,” Flieller said.
In fact, In Tandem will feature that music by itself in a recital scheduled for Sunday, March 15, 5 p.m., at the Tenth Street Theatre, with Carsey accompanying tenor Nathan Wesselowski. Tickets are $15, or $10 with the purchase of a ticket to “Old Wicked Songs.”
In conjunction with the production, the theater will exhibit fiber and paint artworks on Jewish themes by Milwaukee artist Shirah Rachel Apple.
Tickets for “Old Wicked Songs” are $20-$24. They are available by calling 414-271-1371 or online at www.intandemtheatre.org. An official show opening and reception is scheduled for Saturday, March 7, 3 p.m., at the theater.
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