An extraordinarily concentrated and careful effort from Nelson and company. Uncle Vanya is intensely depressing and this is maybe the most depressing production I've yet seen of it. Those looking for Chekhov with laughter should probably go somewhere else.
The play works remarkably well in-the-round. Production design was top-notch. 5 cast members were extraordinary (especially the actor playing Ivan Petrovich) and 2 were astonishingly bad. Overall, a totally worthwhile production, especially for the price.
I have seen upwards of a dozen productions of this play (in about as many adaptations/translations), and I don't think I've ever seen a better Vanya than Jay O. Sanders. His performance alone makes it a must-see.
I thought it was a wonderful production - though it is quite bleak. Jay O. Sanders is remarkable in the title role and the conversational nature of the play heightens the effect of the famous end of Act III.
All the roles were cast rather well, but I found Sonya oddly affected. It didn't seem that she understood or connected with Nelson's stark naturalistic style. The play was also short on humor. Odd, since The Apple Family Plays and The Gabriels were so effortlessly able to balance everyday humor and tragedy in an actual Chekhovian manner (I'm fond of saying The Gabriels is the best production of The Cherry Orchard I've ever seen). I wonder if any translation will be able to deliever in equal measures the humor that Americans so often forget defines Chekhov's work.
Also, I'm a huge fan of Nelson's work, but I must admit I'm growing weary of his framing devices, with the cast bringing in props and setting up the kitchen. What so brilliantly set up The Apple Family Plays and The Gabriels faltered in Illyria, and here seems like a gimmick. Unfortunately so, since the production is full of rich and layered performances.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
joined:4/22/17
joined:
4/22/17
Posted: 9/19/18 at 8:20pm