UNCLE VANYA with O'Hare, Gyllenhaal & Sarsgaard Begins Previews 1/17

Due to very strong ticket sales, Classic Stage Company's new production of Anton Chekhov's UNCLE VANYA, starring Tony Award winner Denis O'Hare as Vanya, Maggie Gyllenhaal as Yelena and Peter Sarsgaard as Astrov, has extended its limited engagement through Sunday, March 8, it was announced today by CSC Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Jessica R. Jenen.

Directed by Austin Pendleton, UNCLE VANYA will begin previews tonight, Saturday, January 17 at Classic Stage Company at 136 East 13th Street, with an official opening set for Thursday, February 12.

The cast of UNCLE VANYA also features Mamie Gummer (Sonya), Louis Zorich (Waffles), George Morfogen (Srebryakov), Delphi Harrington (Maria) and Cyrilla Baer (Marina). UNCLE VANYA will feature scenic design by Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto, who received wide acclaim last season at CSC for his design of The Seagull and who has designed numerous Chekhovian productions in his esteemed career including the famed Lincoln Center production of The Cherry Orchard in 1977. Costume design is by Suzy Benzinger, who also designed last season's The Seagull, and lighting design is by Jason Lyons. The play is translated by Carol Rocamora.

O'Hare, who last performed at CSC in Yasmina Reza's A Spanish Play, stars as Vanya, the quintessential superfluous man, who wakes up one morning to discover he has wasted his life in the service of others, in Chekhov's tragicomic masterpiece of dashed dreams, thwarted love and eternal longing. The play was first performed at the legendary Moscow Art Theater in 1899, directed by Constantine Stanislavsky.

Maggie Gyllenhaal (Yelena Adreevna) has garnered rave reviews for her performances in such films as Sherrybaby (Golden Globe nomination), Secretary (Golden Globe nomination), The Dark Knight, Donnie Darko, Happy Endings and World Trade Center, among others. Her stage work includes Tony Kushner's Homebody/Kabul.

Peter Sarsgaard (Astrov) recently co-starred in the Broadway production of The Seagull, as Trigorin, opposite Kristin Scott Thomas. Other stage work includes the Signature Theatre production of Lanford Wilson's Burn This, as well as Kingdom of Earth, opposite Cynthia Nixon. He has received acclaim for his work in such films as Shattered Glass, Boys Don't Cry, Kinsey, Garden State, Jarhead, The Dying Gaul and Rendition, among others.

Austin Pendleton has directed UNCLE VANYA twice before, at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 1972 and at the Hartman Theatre in Stamford in 1980; both times featuring sets by Santo Loquasto, however, CSC's new production will feature a new direction and design. Mr. Pendleton has also played Vanya several times: at the Whole Theatre Co. (directed by Olympia Dukakis); at the Williamstown Theatre Festival (directed by Jeff Blechner); at CSC (directed by Maria Irene Fornes); at Steppenwolf (directed by Sheldon Pantinkin); and twice in an event called the Chekhov Cycle, a series of staged readings of the four major Chekhov plays, organized by Olympia Dukakis and presented first at Williamstown and later at the Two River Theatre in New Jersey. He has also performed in numerous other productions of Chekhov's plays.

In its 41st season as one of New York's most exciting Off-Broadway theaters, Classic Stage Company is the award-winning Off-Broadway theatre committed to re-imagining the classical repertory for a contemporary American audience.

Led by Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Jessica R. Jenen, CSC presents plays from the past that speak directly to the issues of today. As we return to works of the past, we endeavor to keep a clear eye on the future, particularly in terms of the next generation of artists and audiences. Classic Stage's artists are the best-established and emerging theater practitioners working in this country. Highly respected and widely regarded as a major force in New York and American theater, Classic Stage has been cited repeatedly by all the major Off-Broadway theater awards: Obies, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and 1999 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

Memberships to Classic Stage Company productions are available at various price levels, including the flexible Masterpass membership, which in addition to prime seats, entitles members to participate in CSC special series, including their sold out Open Rehearsal events.

UNCLE VANYA will be performed Tuesday through Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. Tickets are $70 and $75. For tickets and information, visit www.classicstage.org, call (866) 811-4111, or (212) 352-3101, or visit the CSC box-office at 136 East 13th Street, Monday through Friday 12 pm to 6 pm.

For further information on Classic Stage Company, call (212) 352-3101, visit the theatre in person at 136 East 13th Street, or go to www.classicstage.org.

 

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