Overview
Synopsis
Leopoldstadt follows the huge, extended Merz family who reside in Vienna, Austria. They have been settled there since Grandma Emilia fled pogroms in the East many years earlier. They are a family of Jewish intellectuals and free citizens of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Moving from 1899 to 1955, the play follows the rise and fall of Vienna’s Jewish community through the lens of one family They face the grief of losing a son and nephew in the First World War, navigating the family business through the depression and the rise of Bolshevism, and the onslaught of Nazi invasion. By the final scene, set in 1955, this huge family has been tragically reduced to just three survivors. Leopoldstadt takes a bold look at what it means to be Jewish for one’s self, but also in the eyes of others, and asks what happens when history catches up with you.
Show Information
- Book
- Tom Stoppard
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 1
- First Produced
- 2020
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Period, Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- Vienna, Austria, 1899-1955
- Cast Size
- large
- Licensor
- Dramatists Play Service
- Ideal For
- Large Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Mature Adult, Adult, Young Adult, Child Characters
Context
Tom Stoppard’s 2020 play Leopoldstadt is fictional, yet it has an autobiographical element. Stoppard’s four grandparents died in Nazi concentration camps but the playwright only found out that his family was Jewish and that he had fled Histler’s invasion into his native Czechoslovakia with them as a very young child.
Leopoldstadt premiered in London’s Wyndham Theatre in January 2020 but its run was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. The production was directed by Patrick Marber and won
to read the context for Leopoldstadt and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Scene One
It is December 1899 in Vienna, Austria. The Merz family home is in the midst of pleasant chaos as the children decorate the Christmas tree and several conversations are held at once amongst the extended family. Little or no sense can be made, except that there is a chocolate cake which is making the rounds amongst adults and children alike. As they talk, it becomes clear that they are a traditional Jewish family, but Gretl and Ernst, Grandma Emilia’s daughter-in-law and
to read the plot for Leopoldstadt and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
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Lead |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Lead |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Supporting |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Female |
Non-singer |
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Featured |
Male |
Non-singer |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
A piece of writing based on the writer’s own life.
The systematic genocide of six-million Jewish people during World War II.
The political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. They were later developed to form the basis of communism.
Officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party, it was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945.
Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher