Review: THE THREE SISTERS OF WEEHAWKEN at Theatre Lab

I'll Take Manhattan...or Maybe Chinese Take Out

Olga, Masha and Irina, with Natasha close behind, have fled the pages of Chekov, waited awhile in Beckett, and finally found a home in Deborah Zoe Laufer's wonderfully funny The Three Sisters of Weehawken, a world premiere at Theatre Lab, the professional resident company at Florida Atlantic University.

This is the first full production at Theatre Lab and if Sisters is any criterion we're in for a great ride.

Directed by playwright Laufer, actors Elizabeth Dimon as Olga, Niki Fridh as Masha, Betsy Graver as Irina and Jessica Farr as Natasha make extremely light of the classics, both Russian and British.

As they constantly tell each other, Olga is the working one, lolling in Ritalin stolen from her school boys, Masha is the artistic one, painting black on black portraits of Irina and currently working on number 439 with all of the them hung on the walls of their home. Irina is the pretty one, forever posing for Masha. Natasha, married to the sisters' brother, pops in and out, annoyingly successful and manipulative,

Olga, in a business suit, is ensconced in an antimacassar draped armchair. A pile of empty Chinese take out boxes surrounds her and teddy bears hide within the clutter. Masha, dressed head to toe in black, preens, complains, preens, complains as she daubs at the easel. And pretty Irina, in a floating white dress and ballet slippers perches on her stool, smiling vacuously as she poses.

With the sisters still in their twenties, Olga announces that this the anniversary of their father's death and that it's also Irina's birthday. It is May 5, 1958. Olga, Masha and Irina raise their arms high, fervently praising the joys of Manhattan as they stress their desire to move there. Then Natasha enters, dressed as a pig tailed school girl. She gives a pink ribbon to Irina.

And the scene repeats: '68, '73, '80, 2000, 2014, 2016. The sisters grow older, Natasha visits, improving her life, still bringing the pink ribbons, and Olga, Masha and Irina throw their arms in the air and make their plans to move to Manhattan.

The Three Sisters of Weehawken is a ninety minute one act filled with gags both broad and subtle but it has a line of poignancy running throughout handled beautifully by all four actors.

And a note about Theatre Lab itself: 99 comfortable, well raked seats. A welcoming lobby with cafeteria. There is garage parking nearby. Lou Tyrell is the artistic director, Matt Stabile is the associate artistic director and the producing director is Des Gallant. The production manager is David Nail and the company manager is Lauren Palmieri.

The Three Sisters of Weehawken runs through November 6 at Theatre Lab at FAU, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton. 561-297-6124 http://www.fau.edu/theatrelab

Photo: L-R: Elizabeth Dimon, Niki Fridh, Betsy Graver

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