Drabinsky’s Sousatzka a musical about survival

Victoria Clark plays Holocaust survivor Madame Sousatzka. CYLLA VON TIEDEMANN PHOTO

After his father is imprisoned as a political dissident, musical prodigy, 16-year-old Themba flees the dark days of apartheid South Africa in 1982 and comes to London with his mother to study with the renowned piano teacher Madame Sousatzka, a Holocaust survivor.

The layers of veneer eventually peel away. We see a stoic woman, not unkind but somewhat brittle like so many who have suffered and survived.  Wearing a protective shell, the eccentric Sousatzka, goes about her life, one foot in front of the other. As the salonista among a group of eclectic housemates, she has made this new life for herself, establishing a reputation for mentoring musical genius.

Sousatzka, the new musical produced by Garth Drabinsky, at the Elgin Theatre, was born of Drabinsky’s vision. Based on the 1962 book by Bernice Rubens, Madame Sousatzka was later made into a movie starring Shirley MacLaine.

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Drabinsky, whose successes include Phantom of the Opera, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Show Boat and Ragtime, had a somewhat different concept for the new production and honed the story for the stage version.   

Two of the main characters in Sousatzka come from very different backgrounds but their paths intersect with a common thread.  Musical prodigy Themba has escaped the Soweto riots, Sousatzka has escaped the Holocaust.  Music is at their core. They are both survivors.

Drabinsky brought his hand-picked creative team together with three-time Tony Award- nominated playwright Craig Lucas at the helm, director Adrian Noble, and the musical composing team of Tony Award winner Richard Maltby and Academy Award winner David Shire. Choreographed by Tony Award nominee Graciela Daniele, this grand musical production features a cast of 47.

Tony Award winner Victoria Clark as Sousatzka, and Themba’s mother, Tony Award nominee Montego Glover, are well-matched as the two strong women in the young Themba’s life.  The Countess, played by Tony Award winner Judy Kaye, Sousatzka’s long-time friend and confidant, is also one of her unusual group of housemates. Themba, played by Jordan Barrow, making his Broadway debut, is the earnest, bright and sensitive 16-year-old who matures into a brilliant pianist under Sousatzka’s tutelage.

The struggle throughout the play between Themba’s mother, Xholiswa, and Sousatzka is palpable.

Paralyzing for any mother to know she will hand off her son to another woman, who will ultimately open the door for him to a better life, one she could never give him.  For Sousatzka, who will take her son, hone his musical genius, knowing that she might then lose him to the world.

Drabinksy knows about struggle first hand, from being a child with polio to his dealings with the legal system.

He will tell you that everything is a learning experience and what you once considered somewhere you’d never be and people you would never have a conversation with – now says anything is possible.

A little more humble, a great deal more appreciative for what is possible, the impresario with his Beethovenesque mane, is still large and in charge.

Maybe we do write about what we know best.  

At the Elgin Theatre, performances began Feb 25 and run until April 9th. Official world premiere event Thursday March 23.
Tickets at ticketmaster.ca. sousatzkamusical.com‎