Critic at Leisure

A spellbinding concert to treasure: ‘The pianist of Willesden Lane’

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Whatever superlatives come to mind as you join the standing ovation for Mona Golabek as her nimble fingers triumphantly course through the final exquisite strains of Grieg’s “Piano Concerto in A Minor” at the conclusion of “The Pianist of Willesden Lane” one thing is certain: You will know you’ve basked in 90 indelible minutes of a history lesson whose searing message will echo in your soul forever.
At 59E.59Theaters, Trevor Hay and Hershey Felder’s set is comprised of elegant giant picture frames that become windows to a series of black and white photographs documenting the events that changed the world forever in 1938: A time when Europe’s Jews had to flee for their lives from the onslaught of a Nazi pogrom dedicated to purging that continent of its Jewish population.
Set in Vienna in 1938 and in London during the Blitz, American concert pianist Golabek is rarely far removed from an onstage Steinway concert grand piano. There she intermingles stirring, soaring renditions drawn from the classic works of such as Chopin, Debussey, Rachmaninoff — and her beloved mother’s favorite — Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor — as Golabek takes on the role of her unique scion, Lisa Jura, to share her mother’s spellbinding tale of a young woman pianist who survived the Holocaust and came to America to become her own two daughters piano teacher and mentor; just as Lisa Jura had been taught and nurtured by her own mother in the Jewish Quarter of Vienna before the Nazi’s made it urgent for Mona’s grandparents to send their children to safety — via the lifesaving Kinder-transport system — as far from Vienna as possible.
For the remainder of “The Pianist of Willesden Lane,” with Golabek morphed into her mother, we bear witness to this riveting tale of gumption and perseverance as we share the travails of a frightened, displaced young woman determined to pursue her dream of becoming a concert pianist.
The heart of the play is set in London, where Lisa Jura was reluctantly taken into an already over-crowded, cramped “safe house” where her pluck — and the luck of a grand piano where she was housed — enabled her to hone her skills. That house was destroyed in the first wave of London’s bombing. But a series of strokes of good fortune once the house was restored (luck, as the saying goes fortuitously favoring the well prepared!) led to an invitation to study with famed British pianist Myra Hess; then on to a full scholarship at London’s Royal Academy of Music, culminating in Jura’s debut at the famed Wigmore Hal l— with her two sisters (who unlike their parents survived the war) in the cheering audience!

In 2003, Mona Golabek and Lee Cohen wrote “The Children of Willenden Lane,” “A Memoir of Music, Love and Survival”— a tribute based on Mona’s mother’s extraordinary life. It’s that book that has now been magnificently adapted and brilliantly directed by Felder into the equally fascinating and heart-warming “The Pianist of Willesden Lane,” With a Golabek, a Grammy nominee and recording artist, who has appeared at the Kennedy Center and the Royal Festival Hall, definitely proving this glowing, uber-talented “apple” is a delicious treat from her adored mom’s family tree!
While the stream of archival photos in their giant old-world picture frames reveal the disruption and sundering of a warm happy family, and the horrors of the displacement, terror and tragedy of the war years, the power of Golabek’s passionate renditions of the play’s defining Grieg Concerto, and equally magnificent excerpts from some dozen iconic works by major composers of Europe’s long golden age of classical music are a gorgeous gift in a magical, gripping evening: Ironically, now sure to resonate most strongly in our world’s current climate of cascading political unrest.
With special kudos to y Felder, associate director Hay and all of the talents behind this compelling production, the wisdom Golabek garnered from her mother nurturing she and her sister’s talents are all about following your dream, dedication to your craft and striving to be the best you can be at what you do for love. And then sharing your good fortune.
All of which you’ll discover at 59E.59 Theaters;212-279-4200 or www.59E59.ORG (with tickets fast selling out!)
CRITICS ALERT: Just when we need cheering and laughter most the revival of “Pageant” has announced the extension of its ribald run at the Davenport Theatre through Sept. 21. In this feast of zany humor: where the audience gets to pick the nightly winner of the most, hilarious and charming beauty contest imaginable! And then some as all the glam ladies competing for glory are — you guessed it! — uber -talented men in glam frocks and attitudes! Go get the giggles as these rocking Rockettes strut their “stuff!” Spell this “Pageant” fun, fun, fun! (354 W. 45th St. Tickets at telecharge.com or 212-239-6200)