Listen to the President February 10, 2009March 12, 2017 But first . . . LOOKING FOR A MOVIE? See Defiance. It would be gripping in any event, but the fact that it happened – well, that just takes your breath away. LOOKING FOR A PLAY? See the limited Broadway run of 33 Variations, which had its first preview last night to a packed audience ranging from Gloria Steinem to a seeing-eye dog in the seat in front of me. You don’t need to be able to see to appreciate Beethoven (just as he did not have to be able to hear to compose his Ninth Symphony – he was completely deaf by then). But the set and staging are in fact wonderful. So, too, the script: wonderful. The piano: wonderful. The whole notion: wonderful (the 50 top composers in Vienna were presented with a simple waltz and asked to compose a “variation” on it to be compiled in a book; Beethoven became obsessed with this little waltz and composed 33 variations – why? that’s the question that obsessed the modern-day musicologist who traveled to Bonn to find out). And Jane Fonda’s first Broadway performance in 44 years (no, not as Beethoven, you ninny)? Wonderful. A toe-tapper it’s not. For that, of course, you want Jersey Boys. But it’s an evening you won’t forget. LET GAYS SERVE? Owen West, a conservative ex-marine, who initially opposed allowing gays to serve in the military, now makes the case for reversing course. And now . . . THE PRESIDENT’S PRESS CONFERENCE If you missed it, click here. I think it’s important that we watch these things, because this isn’t business as usual. Everyone should join the conversation.