In ‘Leopoldstadt,’ a Master of the Stage Confronts His Own Ghosts

Tom Stoppard’s most personal play covers years of dashed dreams and consummated cataclysm.

Joan Marcus/ Leopoldstadt
Joshua Satine (Young Jacob) decorates a Christmas tree in Tom Stoppard's 'Leopoldstadt.' Joan Marcus/ Leopoldstadt

“Leopoldstadt,” Tom Stoppard’s most personal play, is also true to the playwright’s form. It features a lot of talking, a surfeit of ideas, and is unrepentantly highbrow. It tells the story of a Jew-ish family at Vienna — there are baptisms and mixed marriages aplenty — between 1899 and 1955. Years of dashed dreams and cataclysm, on view at the Longacre Theatre.  

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