Lempicka

 Lempicka
Longacre Theatre
March 30, 2024 

Photo courtesy of Lempicka

Tamara de Lempicka is a world renown artist, whose paintings define the Art Deco period.  Her work and life flourished between World War I and World War II in Paris.  The new Broadway musical, Lempicka,  celebrates her unique style, and tells the story of her life and loves during that time period.  The score by Carson Kreitzer is bold and daring.  The music soars through the Longacre Theare, amazingly performed by this outstanding cast.  

We first meet Tamara de Lempicka (played by Eden Espinosa) in the 1970s in Los Angeles.  She is an older, eccentric woman, sitting on a park bench, painting, and contemplating the journey of her life.  We travel back with her sixty years, to her wedding day in Russia.  She marries Tadeusz Lempicki (played by Andrew Samonsky).  When the Russian Revolution begins, her husband, a Polish royal, is taken prisoner.  She gives herself to a Russian officer in order to get her husband released.  They flee to Paris with their baby daughter.  In Paris, Tamara returns to painting, something she did less of after she married.  Her work catches the eye of the Baron and Baroness (played by Nathaniel Stampley and Beth Leavel), who recommend she study under Marinetti (played by George Abud).  She immerses herself in her studies, and desperately tries to earn money selling her paintings.  When she meets Rafaela (played by Amber Iman), Tamara is immediately attracted to her.  She asks to paint her portrait.  It is with this nude painting that Tamara discovers her own style, which brings her great success in Paris.  Her affair with Rafaela, though known by her friends and husband, is kept very secret.  As Tamara’s fame rises, so does the power of the Nazi Party.  Her husband returns to Poland, and Tamara, being Jewish, flees to the United States with her daughter and the Baron.  

Eden Espinosa as Tamara de Lempicka
Photo courtesy of Lempicka

The production is sharp and stylistic, reflecting the unique and bold style of Lempicka’s Art Deco
masterpieces.  Although focusing on the two loves in Lempicka’s life, the story covers decades of time.  There is chaos and political upheaval, as well as social and artistic evolution, yet the story is told clearly and succinctly. 

Beth Leavel & Nathaniel Stampley
Photo courtesy of Lempicka

In Act II, Beth Leavel delivers an emotionally impactful solo.  The Baroness comes to Tamara to have her portrait painted.  The Baroness has been informed that she has a very short time left to live.  She wants her husband to remember her as she is, strong and full of life.  These are the qualities the Baroness sees in Tamara’s work, and she trusts Tamara to capture what she wants her husband to remember.  The Baroness admits that her husband is in  love with Tamara.  She makes Tamara promise to help her husband, who is also Jewish, escape the Nazis.

Before her death in 1980, Tamara de Lempicka’s paintings were recovered and put on auction in the United States.  They brought in millions, and re-establish her reputation.  Her work transformed the way women were viewed in society.  This musical documents her struggle, both personal and as an artist, to achieve her vision and make a name for herself.  

Domenick Danza