Leopoldstadt
by Tom Stoppard

Broadway West End

Leopoldstadt Book Cover — Leopoldstadt Cover

Highlights

Female

Male

120 mins 1950s Reduced Casting (Doubling Possible) Flexible Cast Size Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes

Awards & Recognition

Drama Desk Award Drama League Award Olivier Award Outer Critics Circle Tony Award

Winner! Four 2023 Tony Awards, including Best Play Winner! Two 2023 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Play Winner! 2023 Drama League Award for Outstanding Production of a Play Winner! 2023 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Broadway Play Winner! Two 2020 Olivier Awards, including Best New Play

Synopsis

At the beginning of the 20th century, Leopoldstadt was the old, crowded Jewish quarter of Vienna, a city humming with artistic and intellectual excitement.

Stoppard’s epic yet intimate drama centers on Hermann Merz, a manufacturer and baptized Jew married to Catholic Gretl, whose extended family convene at their fashionable apartment on Christmas Day in 1899.

Yet by the time the play closes, Austria has passed through the convulsions of war, revolution, impoverishment, annexation by Nazi Germany, and the Holocaust, which stole the lives of 65,000 Austrian Jews alone.

From one of today’s most acclaimed playwrights, Leopoldstadt is a human and heartbreaking drama of literary brilliance, historical verisimilitude and powerful emotion.

Press Reviews

"Brilliant and gorgeous. A masterpiece."
— Deadline

"Breathtakingly brilliant."
— Chicago Tribune

"Ranks among Mr. Stoppard’s greatest works… an inexpressibly moving, majestic play."
— The Wall Street Journal

Characters

Character	Gender	Age	Description
Emilia Hermann Her son	female	—	Her son
Eva Her daughter	female	—	Her daughter
Gretl Married to Hermann	—	—	Married to Hermann
Ludwig Married to Eva	—	—	Married to Eva
Wilma Sister of Ludwig	female	—	Sister of Ludwig
Ernst Married to Wilma	—	—	Married to Wilma
Hanna Sister of Ludwig and Wilma	female	—	Sister of Ludwig and Wilma
Jacob Son of Hermann and Gretl	—	—	Son of Hermann and Gretl
Pauli Son of Ludwig and Eva	—	—	Son of Ludwig and Eva
Nellie Daughter of Ludwig and Eva	female	—	Daughter of Ludwig and Eva
Sally Daughter of Ernst and Wilma	female	—	Daughter of Ernst and Wilma
Rosa Sally’s twin	—	—	Sally’s twin
Poldi Cook/housekeeper	—	—	Cook/housekeeper
Hilde Parlour maid	—	—	Parlour maid
Jana Nursemaid	—	—	Nursemaid
Fritz A young officer	—	—	A young officer
Hermine Daughter of Hanna and Kurt	female	—	Daughter of Hanna and Kurt
Aaron Married to Nellie	—	—	Married to Nellie
Kurt Married to Hanna	—	—	Married to Hanna
Zac Married to Sally	—	—	Married to Sally
Otto A banker	—	—	A banker
Mohel	—	—	—
Percy An English journalist	—	—	An English journalist
Leo Son of Nellie and Aaron	—	—	Son of Nellie and Aaron
Nathan Son of Sally and Zac	—	—	Son of Sally and Zac