The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz is a play written by former Creative Communications instructor Armin Wiebe. He’s the author of three novels set in the fictional town of Gutenthal, Manitoba, and wrote the award-winning novel Tatsea. The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz was Wiebe’s first foray into playwriting.
The play was produced by Theatre Projects Manitoba, and directed by Kim McCaw. It was staged at the Rachel Browne Theatre in mid-April.
Photo of Armin Wiebe
The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz is play about a Mennonite couple, Obrum (Tom Keenan) and Susch Kehler (Tracy Penner), who live on the outskirts of town and are unable to conceive a child after two years of marriage. Obrum, a hard-working farmer purchases a piano in a state of disrepair. He invites Beethoven Blatz (Eric Nyland) to fix the piano, with the hope that Blatz will eventually teach Susch to play the instrument. The story unfolds from there.
The central theme of the play is about unfulfilled desires that are seemingly unattainable. Obrum and Susch want to conceive a child, but are unable to after two years of marriage. Blatz wants to play music with his sweet Sonya, who presumably died in his homeland. Teen (Daria Puttaert), Susch’s best friend, wants to foster an unconventional relationship with her.
Picture of the set used in the play
In so far as the play went, I enjoyed it for the most part. The one aspect of the production I did not like was the repetitiveness. Susch kept repeating ad nauseam that she was unable to conceive a child, and that it made her feel empty and unfulfilled as a woman and wife. I personally didn’t think that point had to be emphasized quite as much as it was. I think it was quite evident that that was Susch’s major grievance.
I also thought the play went through too many periods of inaction and introspection. The play had many scenes that weren’t really necessary. The characters’ desires and inner conflicts were evident, and the scenes that provided constant introspection were, in my opinion, pointless. If some of these scenes were removed, the pace of the story would be greatly improved, and there would be no lulls in the play.
During a talkback with Wiebe following the play, he explained that the play was an adaptation of a short story he wrote 15 years ago. I thought it was very interesting that even though the original story was written so long ago, that the process of revising and editing it to the point where it could become a play was constant.
During a talkback with Wiebe following the play, he explained that the play was an adaptation of a short story he wrote 15 years ago. I thought it was very interesting that even though the original story was written so long ago, that the process of revising and editing it to the point where it could become a play was constant.
Regardless of my minor issues with the play, I thought as a whole The Moonlight Sonata of Beethoven Blatz was amusing and entertaining.
