By Claire MillerWhen I walked out of the Cellar Theatre following the University Theatre's performance of "Uncle Vanya," I wasn't sure how to feel. Sad that every character in the play I'd just watched was consistently miserable? Confused by the noticeable lack of a plotline?
And then I realized something: I had just spent the last two hours watching a bunch of depressed, unsympathetic characters in turn-of-the-century Russia moan and groan about their horrible lives. I was glad both that the tragic play had finished and that my life wasn't nearly as melancholy as those portrayed minutes ago.
While the theatre's production of Anton Chekhov's Russian tragicomedy was enjoyable at select moments, overall it left something to be desired.
The play follows Alexander Serebrikov (played by Rob Glidden), a retired professor plagued by rheumatism, gout and the knowledge that his life is slowly coming to an end. While he spends his days alternating between taking walks in the country and cooping himself up in his room, his brother-in-law, Vanya (Michael Stille), and his daughter from his first marriage, Sonya (Koquina Forte), take care of the estate.
Not that the estate is much to look at -- all the furniture (which consists of a couple of benches and two tables) is covered in white sheets, which adds a layer of visual monotony to this two-hour complain-a-thon.
The tedium is only broken up slightly by visits from Dr. Astrov (overacted by Scotty Gannon), a country physician who attempts to treat the professor's ailments but finds himself more occupied by his own miserable existence and his infatuation with the professor's second wife, the beautiful and cold Yelena (stiffly portrayed by Ruth Crews).
Dr. Astrov knows he can't ever be with Yelena, and he dwells on this and other so-called "failings" in his life. This, it seems, is how a lot of characters handle their misery -- they complain about wasting their lives away and wishing they could be happy again rather than actually doing something about it. It's like watching a bunch of Hamlets stuck in a house together. With cabin fever.
"This place...it's like a prison," the professor says. Yeah, a prison for you and for me, since I have to watch it, I thought to myself.
The only people who don't seem miserable are the hired help, Marina "Nanny" Timofeevna (played by the loveable Sally Stenger) and Ilya Ilich "Waffles" Telegin (played adorably by Ryan Pannell). But they only appear in a few scenes, and their kind words are consistently pushed aside to allow more time for the other characters to whine. These two, along with innocent Sonya, provide the only heartfelt lines in the play -- a noble attempt to balance out the play's depressing nature.
The play has another nice moment when Yelena and Sonya share a bonding moment toward the end of the first act. However, this happy moment shifts quickly to a discussion of Yelena's unhappy life married to an older man she doesn't love. Just when you though you'd found the first uplifting scene in the play, it turns on you.
As a result, the audience has to watch Vanya and company wearing the same plain clothes, walking around the same dull set, talking about the same dismal subjects. If nothing else, people should go see "Uncle Vanya" to feel better about their own lives, secure in the knowledge that they aren't middle class farm owners living in early 20th century Russia. Because after seeing this play, anything is better than that kind of life.
2 comments:
Vanya was painful to sit through, but I did think the acting was very good for a university performance.
I agree with Richard. I typically don't watch plays because I find them uninteresting, but the acting seemed awesome for a university performance. I certainly couldn't memorize all those lines and then deliver them with such emotion. I think the women were a little hard on the cast in this case.
Post a Comment