Yes, I now believe in miracles. I've been trying for a couple of months to get tickets to Lost Land (by Stephen Jeffreys, directed by Terry Johnson and featuring ensemble members John Malkovich, Martha Lavey, and Yasen Peyankov) at the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. Every show has been completely sold out.

On a lark, I went online to try for tickets to Tuesday May 3's evening performance and lucked into a center front row balcony seat!

Lost Land was worth the wait.

One of the reasons I was so keen to see this show (other than Mr. M, who was also the costume designer and now has his own line of men's clothing) is that it takes place in Hungary at the end of World War I. My father was Hungarian (see page eight of this pdf of The Ubyssey from 1960 for a profile of one of his stainless steel homes, and also check out his architecture for the Victoria Village Library and the York Woods Library), so I'm always interested in Hungarian characters and history.

From Backstage, subtitled "An insider's guide to what's inside Steppenwolf":

In a remote castle in the winegrowing region of northern Hungary, a mysterious delegate arrives to persuade a beloved retired politician to claim the reins of power. Set at the end of WWI, when the nation is on the verge of collapse, Lost Land confronts the ideas of statehood and personal obligation with sharp humor and intrigue.

Kristof, the retired government official of Lost Land is ripped from his serene and secluded life in order to serve Hungary in the final moments of World War I. Playwright Stephen Jeffreys based this fictional character on the historical circumstance of Michael Karolyi, an exiled count so disturbed by the tumult of Hungary that he returned to politics in 1919.

There is a wonderful picture of Michael Karolyi in the magazine -- he's sporting a look I've seen many times -- that wonderful pencil mustache and raised eyebrow that says, "damn I look good!" Ah, Hungarian men. Like no other...

The unique location of Lost Land, a remote vineyard in Northern Hungary, is renowned as the birthplace of Tokaj, the world-famous dessert wine. The survival of Hungary's Tokaj wine through centuries of bloody conflict elevates the wine to near-mythic proportions. In Hungary the wine takes prominence in the national anthem -- nectar flowed, drops of pure gold from Tokaj wine presses. King Louis XIV described the wine as "The King of wines, the wine of Kings."

My dad would have shrugged his shoulders as if to say "What else would you expect from Hungarian wine?"

It is a time-consuming and laborious process to make Tokaj. When the Communists dominated Hungary in the middle of the 20th century, Hungarian farmers were forbidden to produce the wine because its laborious production was considered highly wasteful as well as distinctly elitist. The Communists insisted that the Tokaj grapes be used for basic table wine -- Bull's Blood -- which, trust me, is about as drinkable as the name implies. I have a pretty good idea why my dad despised the Communists so much.

Now back to the play. It beautifully illustrated the time -- a world on the edge of tumultuous change, a region being ravaged and reduced by politics and war, and the "solution" that sets the continent up for WWII.

The playwright captured the Hungarian elitism, the distaste for the surrounding Slovacs and Czechs, and the realization of Hungary's long-term need to be part of a larger world, by selling Tokaj internationally. (Of course, not bothering with the Russians "who are happy drinking Turpentine".)

I also enjoyed the humor derived from the use of the expression "Hungarian gentlemen", used as an oxymoron. However, I know why I was laughing, but why was everyone else in the audience laughing?

According to an article in Where Magazine ("Return of the Native" by Nina Metz, May 2005), the part of Miklos, the manipulative and ill-intentioned visitor, was originally written for John Malkovich to play. During a an early reading, Jeffreys came to the conclusion that Miklos "was the obvious John Malkovich part. He could play that part falling off a log." Malkovich agreed.

"It wouldn't have been, let's just say, for me, a fantastic challenge. To play the other part (Kristof) someone who is dreamy, stunted and ineffectual -- I think perhaps that is more of a surprise for the people watching."

The result was terrific. Malkovich was awesome. And Yasben Peyankov did an amazing job as Miklos. Although it would be neat to see Malkovich play that character, in that wonderful manipulative Malkovich way.

Martha Lavey as Ilona, Kristof's sister, did an incredible job of portraying a woman who really ran the wine production and the castle estate, but was denied ownership because of her gender.

My father would have enjoyed the show immensely!

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