Article updated: 9/7/2012 6:35 AM

TimeLine's '33 Variations' hits all the right notes

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Janet Ulrich Brooks plays Dr. Katherine Brandt, a music scholar trying to unlock the mystery of why Beethoven spent years composing variations on a mediocre theme in TimeLine Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of Moises Kaufman's "33 Variations."

Photo by Lara Goetsch

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Beethoven (Terry Hamilton, right) obsesses over teasing the last bit of music out of a minor waltz by Anton Diabelli in TimeLine Theatre's "33 Variations" featuring pianist George Lepauw.

Photo by Lara Goetsch

As her life draws to an end, Katherine Brandt (Janet Ulrich Brooks, right) and her daughter Clara (Jessie Fisher) spend the most valuable currency — time — in Nick Bowling's Chicago-area premiere of Moises Kaufman's "33 Variations" at TimeLine Theatre.

Photo by Lara Goetsch

Director Nick Bowling, projection designer Mike Tutaj and a superb cast combine for TimeLine Theatre's moving, deeply personal Chicago-area premiere of Moises Kaufman's "33 Variations."

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Janet Ulrich Brooks is outstanding as Dr. Katherine Brandt, a music scholar trying to unlock the mystery of why Beethoven spent years composing variations on a mediocre theme in TimeLine Theatre's Chicago-area premiere of Moises Kaufman's smart “33 Variations.” The play has humor and heart, and it contains some wonderfully moving moments.