'Last Call' review — two musicians conduct a duel
Read our review of Last Call off Broadway, a new play by Peter Danish that imagines a reunion between conductors Leonard Bernstein and Herbert von Karajan.
There is little separation of art from artist in theatre, which is fitting for Last Call, a new play by Peter Danish at New World Stages.
No one seized on this phenomenon better than Leonard Bernstein, the virtuoso American conductor and composer whose achievements in classical music were matched by his in popular culture; perhaps no one understood the pitfalls quite like Herbert von Karajan, the Austrian conductor pilloried for his association with Nazism at the beginning of his career. In Last Call, the two reunite one shadowy night at a Viennese hotel bar, the ailing but studious Karajan (Lucca Züchner) confronting a Bernstein (Helen Schneider) who is somewhat in denial about the limitations of his own advancing age.
Though hampered by forays into voiceover narration from the bathroom (the reveal of Chris Barreca’s set can only be fun the first time) and brief reveries in the spotlight, Last Call gives Züchner and Schneider ample material to work with, and the actors milk every drop. Neither woman’s physical devotion to their character would be questioned if not for director Gil Mehmert’s pre-show preface about the nature of their homage in drag. Mehmert notes that the prosthetic nose which Bradley Cooper donned to play Bernstein in the film Maestro distracted audiences, and that his casting of two women can thereby nip distraction in the bud by calling attention to the inherently farcical elements of playing a real person.
But Züchner and Schneider, as actors, are not blank slates because of their genders, and the costume so objected to in Maestro is inextricable from Bernstein’s Jewishness. Last Call does not shy away from discussions of culture and politics, with Bernstein harping on about his religion’s worldly contributions while the elderly Karajan insists moral and political statements are distinct from artistic ones. Such a proclamation has to be true for Mehmert’s device to work; otherwise, the German production that equates Karajan’s act of joining the Nazi Party with Bernstein’s act of protesting it falls flat.
Last Call summary
In 1988 Vienna, American maestro Leonard Bernstein runs into Austrian maestro Herbert von Karajan at a hotel bar. Over the course of the next hour, the two friendly rivals debate the merits of their artistic endeavors, taking frequent jabs at one another’s egos, awards, and career missteps. Though a waiter and aspiring comedian (Victor Petersen) tries to keep the two men calm, the duel quickly devolves into a discussion of the most notable anecdote of Karajan’s storied life: his enrollment in the Nazi Party and acquiescence to Nazi leaders who wanted him to promote the Third Reich through German music.
What to expect at Last Call
Last Call runs 90 minutes and is performed without an intermission. The play contains depictions of alcohol consumption and the use of herbal cigarettes. Last Call includes references to homophobia, antisemitism, and the violence of Nazism, and it also includes discussions and depictions of physical ailments.
What audiences are saying about Last Call
Last Call has an audience approval rating of 90% on the review aggregator Show-Score.
- Show-Score user Joey Franko called the new play a “must see” with “stunning performances.”
- Show-Score user Show Addict praises Last Call and assures audiences that “you don’t have to be an expert on either conductor to understand a very human story.”
- Show-Score user Robert 5073 says that Schneider and Züchner “completely embodied these iconic musicians” in their performances.
Read more audience reviews of Last Call on Show-Score.
Who should see Last Call
- Fans of Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein biopic Maestro will appreciate learning more about the composer’s journeys in Europe.
- If you enjoy classical music, from Brahms to Mahler, you’ll Ravel in the fiery musical debates of Last Call.
- Fans and scholars of contemporary German theatre will welcome the chance to see the work of Mehmert and actors from the Munich theatre community.
Learn more about Last Call off Broadway
Both Züchner and Schneider entrance audiences with their embodiments of Karajan and Bernstein, respectively, and Last Call is worth seeing for the wig work of Justen Brosnan alone.
Photo credit: Last Call off Broadway. (Photos by Maria Baranova)
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