Led by the flickering candlelight, Sonya and a man whose stomach is pounding secretly share a late-night meal. He’s Astrof, her guest, and to be honest, he’s kind of sick–he’s had too much to drink, and he’s actually drunk now. He’s also her lovably weird, smart, and kind, eco-nerd doctor who sends her incredibly complex signals.
“We are all alone here,” he said, sotto voce. “We can be honest with each other.”
It’s so enchanting, full of apocalyptic hope on the one hand and oblivion (is it?) on the other, like looking at the gentleman calling Laura in The Glass Menagerie. But this says “Uncle VanyaAnd even if Chekhov had never let you matchmake a couple of his characters on Tinder before, this version by director Jack Serio in a loft in Manhattan’s Flatiron district is a possibility. There may be
“You are the most beautiful human being I have ever known,” Sonya tells Astrof, and that playing her is the wonderful Marin Ireland, who is ridiculously lucky to have her. Your whole soul wells up with anger because it is clear that It would be wrong to say that this likable doctor (played beautifully by the sexy Oklahoma! and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Will Brill) is obsessed with her stepmother, Yelena, instead. Are you there?
So does Sonya’s Uncle Vanya, and the intent of the play is his. A workhorse like a whetstone, he looked up in middle age with horror and humiliation at having wasted his life on piling up bank accounts and elevating the status of worthless men. notice. Sonya’s father is an overqualified professor. , Serebryakov (dapper Bill Irwin). Destined to receive from Yelena, the professor’s wife, nothing more than a pitiful kiss on the forehead, Vanya doesn’t even have a woman who loves him.
But the engulfed flames and swirling pains are all absent from David Cromer’s performance in the title role. His vanya is blank, not a matter of simplicity or restraint. Even if Vanya cries aloud, it does not affect the underlying interpretation of the words. Certainly not on Saturday night when I saw the play. But a live show is an evolving organism. Cromer may still fill that void.
Using Paul Schmidt’s warm and seamless modern translation, it’s also a strangely intimate piece, performed before an audience of no more than 40 people seated on either side of the loft. It’s because of the unbalanced emptiness of Cromer’s Vanya, it’s because of the maturity and intelligence of Yelena, played by Julia Chang.
She is written to be older than Chekhov’s specified age of 27, but she is clearly several tens of years younger than her husband, so she is by no means a curious genius. This Elena has wisdom and knowledge. Therefore, Astrov’s and Vanya’s rivalry frenzy for her is not just a dewdrop reaction to youth. Chicly dressed for the city life she left behind (her outfit by Ricky Reinoso), she embodies primordial elegance, self-confidence, and this country house’s You have a mind too active to find happiness in decorated silence.
Of course, no one else has found happiness. At best, it might be a gentle resignation. Vanya is indignant, not quite there, but his outbursts of anger, which crush a bouquet of flowers, set the stage for a captivating and beautiful stage tableau. Soft orange rose petals just fell on the weathered teal table and the blond wood floor. (sets by Walt Spangler, props by Carrie Mossman)
“It was a sight worthy of an old master,” says Vanya and Sonya’s guitar-strumming, adorable neighbor Telegin (the wonderfully funny Will Duggar) a little later. The shootout that ensued, the sentiment is absolutely correct.
Stunning visuals, such as flower petals and candlelight, are a hallmark of Serio’s work. Lighting designer Stacey Derosier, who contributed the look to ‘On Set with Theda Bara’ earlier this year and ‘This Beautiful Future’ last year, also designed ‘Uncle Vanya’.
But what shines most charmingly in this piece is the electricity that pulsates between the gentle, resilient Sonya and Astrof, who plants her heart so casually. If only he could love her as he loves her forest.
Uncle Vanya
Through July 16th at a loft in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. vanyanyc.com. Running time: 2 hours 35 minutes.
