33 variations.

Last week I won tickets to the play, 33 Variations, which I saw on Tuesday with a friend. I was really excited because 1. I don't win many things, 2. I hadn't yet been to the Ahmanson and 3. the play was about Beethoven.

It was really exciting and a great theater-going experience. The production was pretty breathtaking--the most subtly spectacular effects I've seen on a live stage, the narratives of Beethoven and the musicologist studying his manuscripts interweaving with the Variations played on piano and...Jane Fonda. I mean, come on. I felt like I was seeing a true Grand Dame of the Theater.

It was a bit schmaltzy and life-affirming in a Lifetime for Women kind of way. At one point, Jane's daughter, played by Samantha Morton, yells "I finally see how you see me mom. And it's horrible!" before storming off the stage. A little cringe-inducing, but I could forgive it. There were many moments that made me laugh, and I don't mean in a phony, artificial way, like "they want me to laugh here, so I'll let out a little chuckle." I really laughed. And I stayed awake through the whole thing! And that, my friends, is a good play.