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Absence makes Broadway grow Fonda
Robert Mendick10 Mar 2009
Jane Fonda enjoyed a triumphant return to the Broadway stage last night after an absence of 46 years.
The 71-year-old actress received rave reviews for her performance as a terminally ill academic researching the late work of Beethoven in 33 Variations.
While Fonda received a rapturous standing ovation from the audience - among them fellow Oscar-winning actors Renée Zellweger and Geoffrey Rush and singer Dolly Parton - the critics were equally effusive.
The New York Times praised her "layered crispness" and her "elegantly restrained" portrayal of the lead character Katherine Brandt while Variety, noting "no sign of rustiness", cooed over "the cool command she brings to 33 Variations".
The play, written by Moisés Kaufman and which co-stars Samantha Mathis and Colin Hanks, tells the story of Ludwig van Beethoven's fascination with a trivial waltz and modern-day musicologist Fonda's determination to ferret out the root of his obsession.
Fonda last appeared on Broadway in the 1963 drama Strange Interlude, having made her debut just three years earlier. She effectively quit the stage to concentrate on her film career, winning two Oscars for best actress for roles in Klute and Coming Home.
Her return to the stage has been eagerly anticipated and tickets for the Eugene O'Neill Theater, seating more than 1,000, have been the hottest in town. Fonda received not only a standing ovation at the end but cheers and applause at the start of both acts.
She got off to a nervous start, stumbling over lines, her voice, according to one report, sounding "tentative and thin". But she soon gained confidence, prompting one critic to remark "how much the theatre has missed in her absence of almost half a century".
Writing on her blog before opening night, Fonda recorded her anticipation of what may prove to be the theatrical event of the year. "We all feel it. Something magical has happened. The show is soaring."
Fonda first announced her retirement from acting in the early Nineties. She has been politically active throughout her career and made fitness videos in the Eighties. But after splitting from her husband, media mogul Ted Turner, in 2001, she recently returned to making movies.
She is now tipped to bring 33 Variations to the West End when it finishes its Broadway run.
While her return is celebrated, the same cannot be said for the play, however. The New York Times called it "soggy" and "clunky".
