Old Wicked Songs is a two-character play written by Jon Marans. It was his first play, first performed in 1995, and received a nomination for the 1996 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Productions Old Wicked Songs was first produced at the Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, opening on April 25, 1995. Directed by Frank Ferrante, the cast was Hal Robinson (Professor Josef Mashkan) and Roy Abramsohn (Stephen Hoffman). The play premiered Off-Broadway at the Jewish Repertory Theatre Playhouse 91, presented by The Barrow Group, from October 28, 1995 to November 26, 1995. Directed by Seth Barrish, the cast was Hal Robinson (Professor Josef Mashkan) and Michael Stuhlbarg (Stephen Hoffman). The play was presented Off-Broadway at the Promenade Theatre from August 16, 1996 to March 9, 1997. Directed by Seth Barrish, the cast consisted of Justin Kirk (Stephen Hoffman) and Hal Robinson (Professor Josef Mashkan). The New Zealand premiere was at the Fortune Theatre in Dunedin from September to October 1998, and revived at the Court Theatre, Christchurch, from September to October 1999. The production was directed by Jon Waite, with Donald Hope Evans (Mashkan) and Michael Lee Porter as (Stephen). The Apple Tree Theatre presented the play at the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre, in Arlington Heights, Illinois from October 18, 2000 to November 12. This is a revival of the Apple Tree Theatre production from February 1999, with Daniel J. Travanti and Tom Daugherty starring in both productions. The play was produced in England at the Bristol Old Vic and was later moved to the Gielgud Theatre in the West End in 1996, directed by Elijah Moshinsky with Bob Hoskins and James Callis (Stephen). Between March 31 and May 10, 2008, it was produced at its venue city, in Vienna's English theatre in Austria. Characters Professor Josef Mashkan, Viennese, late-50s Stephen Hoffman, American, 25 years old Plot Old Wicked Songs is about the relationship between a Viennese music professor in his late-50s named Professor Josef Mashkan and his newly acquired student Stephen Hoffman. Hoffman is a 25-year-old pianist who at one time was considered to be a prodigy in his field, but suffers from severe burn out and has not been performing for a year. The play takes place in Vienna, Austria in Professor Mashkan's rehearsal studio. It begins in the spring of 1986 and continues through to summer. The national and international political background is Kurt Waldheim's election to Austrian federal