‘UNCLE VANYA’: Steve Carell. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

UNCLE VANYA
By Anton Chekhov
A new version by Heidi Schreck
Directed by Lila Neugebaeur
Lincoln Center Theater at the Vivian Beaumont
150 West 65^th Street
https://www.lct.org/about/beaumont-theater/

By Scott Harrah

The Russian dramas of Anton Chekhov are never easy plays for American audiences to endure for numerous reasons. Unlike the classics of William Shakespeare, they were never originally written in English so anything poetic and florid about the language is often lost in the proverbial translation. Anton Chekov himself supposedly said Uncle Vanya was intended to be a comedy. If he indeed wanted the play to be interpreted for laughs, Mr. Chekhov would probably love the fact that this latest version—with an updated book by What the Constitution Means to Me playwright Heidi Schreck—at Lincoln Center stars none other than The 40-Year-Old Virgin himself, Steve Carell of “The Office” fame. Mr. Carell is about as American as one gets, and he’s one of our best comic actors. He gets laughs from the audience whenever he’s on the stage.

One might need to down a few vodkas to actually see this drama, first produced in Moscow in 1899, as a comedy, but Vanya (originally subtitled Scenes from a Country Life) and the plays of Chekhov in general are so lugubrious, talky and long that they have always been ripe for parody. Remember the hilarious Chekhov spoof from the 2012 Broadway season by the late Christopher Durang, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike? However, this 21st century interpretation of Uncle Vanya is hardly a parody. It is more like a lighthearted Cliff Notes version of a Chekhov classic with contemporary comic touches.

It is hard to feel much sympathy for the Russian aristocracy portrayed in Uncle Vanya because they are so affluent, immoral and self-indulgent, bored with their summer days in their country home. The play is really about upper-class people who are afraid of wasting their lives, but do not bother to do anything meaningful or pragmatic to better themselves.

The story focuses on a couple from the city, Alexander (Alfred Molina), a professor in poor health, and his gorgeous young wife, Elena (Anika Noni Rose). They have traveled to the rural Russian village to check on their country estate and let everyone living there know they intend to sell the property. Vanya lives on the estate with his niece Sonia (Alison Pill) and he isn’t happy about the visit from Alexander, who is Vanya’s brother-in-law and Sonia’s father. Vanya manages his late sister’s estate with Sonia’s help.  Vanya isn’t amused at all about all the hoopla everyone makes over the professor and his trophy wife. Vanya and the hard-drinking doctor Astrov (William Jackson Harper) are both hot for Elena. Sonia has a crush on the doctor.

Uncle Vanya is a drama originally written in four acts, with a plot that features everything from a love triangle to an attempted murder. Heidi Schreck does a fine job of trimming some of the narrative blather and updating the text for modern audiences, highlighting much of the humor Anton Chekhov supposedly inserted into the story. Mimi Lien’s stage design is a bit of a head-scratcher. The Vivian Beaumont has a vast stage and, as StageZine’s late co-publisher and managing editor David NouNou often said, it is difficult to produce any play in this theater without a lavish set because otherwise, the actors seem like they are being swallowed whole by a stage decorated with sparse scenery. Ms. Lien’s set sometimes resembles a dark city park or a campground.

Director Lila Neugebauer does her best to get fine performances from the stellar cast. Mr. Carrell is his usual charming self, and he definitely has the acting chops for drama (as anyone who saw him play a Marcel Proust-loving, neurotic gay man in Little Miss Sunshine back in 2006 can attest). The fact that Steve Carell is doing Chekhov is funny all by itself, but he approaches the role here with everything he has, and audiences will love him. He is droll and angst-ridden and gives one of the most original interpretations of the title character to date.

It is always a pleasure to see Alfred Molina on the Broadway stage, and this is a far different role than some of his previous shows, such as his Tevye in the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof and his Tony-nominated roles as artist Mark Rothko in Red and Yvan in Yazmina Reza’s Art. Mr. Molina is more than convincing as ailing professor Alexander.

Another noteworthy performance is given by Broadway veteran and Tony-winning actress Jayne Houdyshell as Maria, Vanya’s mother. Ms. Houdyshell is consistently outstanding, and it’s too bad she didn’t have a larger role here.

The gorgeous Anika Noni Rose as Elena is another actress who is no stranger to Broadway. Ms. Rose starred in Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change and as Maggie the Cat in a revival of an all-Black production of Cat On a Hot Tin Roof opposite Terrence Howard, as well as A Raisin in the Sun. She has both the beauty and the onstage sexual chemistry to get all the guys pining for her. Ms. Rose skillfully plays up every aspect of Elena being a bored wife to her much-older husband.

William Jackson Harper, best known for his role on the NBC TV sitcom “The Good Place,” is delightful as the boozy doctor Astrov. Alison Pill’s Sonia has the right mix of vulnerability and naiveté.

Did Chekhov really think Uncle Vanya was a comedy? The same has been said about Chekhov’s most famous drama The Cherry Orchard, and this critic reviewed two mind-numbingly inept productions of that classic both on and off Broadway over the past 20 years. Let’s leave the question of “Russian drama as comedy” up to the academics. This new, abridged version of Uncle Vanya, with many modern comic touches by playwright Heidi Schreck and director Lila Neugebauer, won’t win over Chekhov purists, but it is accessible enough for present-day audiences to enjoy.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published May 15, 2024
Reviewed at May 12, 2024 performance

‘UNCLE VANYA’: Alfred Molina & Anika Noni Rose. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘UNCLE VANYA:’ William Jackson Harper & Anika Noni Rose. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘UNCLE VANYA:’ William Jackson Harper & Alison Pill. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

‘UNCLE VANYA’: The cast. Photo: Marc J. Franklin.

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‘A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2’: Laurie Metcalf, Chris Cooper & Jane Houdyshell. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2
Written by Lucas Hnath
Directed by Sam Gold
Through July 23, 2017
John Golden Theatre
252 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), www.DollsHousePart2.com

By David NouNou

In 1879, Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll’s House where in the end, Nora Helmer slams the door of her house, leaves her husband and her children and walks away from a marriage that she felt was her prison. Quite remarkable for its day for a woman with no means of support to take such action. In 2017, Lucas Hnath has written A Doll’s House, Part 2 in which Nora comes back knocking on the door of the house she walked out of 15 years ago.

Nora (Laurie Metcalf) has come back and is greeted by Anne Marie (Jayne Houdyshell), the family nanny and housemaid. It’s an awkward moment but soon turns into hilarity at every turn, thanks to Mr. Hnath’s brilliant writing. Nora has not come to apologize or be forgiven for walking out on everyone but has come back to get something she wasn’t given 15 years earlier.

Nora has done very well for herself. She has become a successful female writer with plenty of money and lovers along the way. Nora has written many books under a pseudonym advocating freedom for women who feel shackled by the restraints and chains of their marriage by divorcing their husbands and starting a new life. In the process, she has provoked a judge who has found her real identity and is going to expose her for the sham that she is.

Thus her reason for her appearance at her husband’s doorstep. Torvald Helmer (Chris Cooper) never filed the divorce papers as he promised Nora he would. People assumed when she left that she was sick, went to a sanitarium and died. People felt sorry for Thorvald, his reputation at the bank strengthened and he never bothered to correct anyone.

The wheels are set in motion for what is to be the thrill ride of the theatrical season. Nora not only left Torvald and Anne Marie, but she also left behind a young daughter, Emmy (Condola Rashad), who has grown up into a young lovely woman. Like her mother, she is strong-willed; unlike her mother, she wants to get married to the man she is engaged to and wants to be enslaved by the man she loves. In this case, Nora cannot see Emmy as an ally to get her divorce.

What is absolutely astounding is how Mr. Hnath has taken Ibsen’s characters and given them new and far more complicated lives than Ibsen would have ever imagined. There are so many sides to align with, but the allegiance keeps shifting. Nora, Thorvald, Emmy and Anne Marie are all embroiled in these dilemmas and the audience is marveling at the expertise of the writing and the humor that is peppered throughout the play.

The performances at the John Golden Theatre are among the best you will see this season. The play has garnered eight Tony nominations and is sure to win a few: Laurie Metcalf, as Nora, is a sure shot. She is monumental and a force to be reckoned with. Jayne Houdyshell. who won Best Featured Actress in a Play Tony last year for The Humans, is up again this year in the same category, as is Condola Rashad. They are the embodiment of featured actresses and great in their parts and what a thrill it would be to see a tie where both of them could win.

There is some redemption here for Sam Gold, the director. After he deliberately stripped all the poetic lyricism and butchered the magnificent The Glass Menagerie earlier this season with his awful minimalism, it’s minimalistic here as well, but it serves the purpose. With expert writing and excellent performances, I can easily see The Doll’s House, Part 2 being named the Best Play of the Year.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published May 8, 2017
Reviewed at performance on May 7, 2017

‘A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2’: Laurie Metcalf & Condola Rashad. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2’: Laurie Metcalf & Jane Houdyshell. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2’: Laurie Metcalf & Jane Houdyshell. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘A DOLL’S HOUSE, PART 2’: Laurie Metcalf. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

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‘THE HUMANS’: (left to right) Reed Birney, Jane Houdyshell, Sarah Steele, Arian Moayed. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

THE HUMANS
Written by Steven Karam
Directed by Joe Mantello
Helen Hayes Theatre
240 West 44th Street
(212-239-6200), www.thehumansonbroadway.com

By Scott Harrah

Dysfunctional family dramas have become a staple in American theater, but Steven Karam’s The Humans, which just transferred to Broadway after a brief run at the Roundabout Laura Pels, is the rare exception of such a play that resonates with a natural universality. Think of this as a one-act, abridged version of Tracey Letts’ August: Osage County with a supernatural twist. Director Joe Mantello has left everything from the Off Broadway version intact, from the fine cast to the unique, split-level set depicting a bare bones Manhattan basement duplex apartment.

Steven Karam, best known for his 2011 drama Sons of the Prophet, establishes himself as one of America’s leading playwrights here with the saga of the Blakes. The family has traveled from Scranton, Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving with daughter Brigid (Sarah Steele) and her boyfriend Richard (Arian Moayed) in their new Chinatown abode. In 95 minutes, we learn about the many troubles of the family. Brigid and Richard are swimming in student loan debt. Brigid’s parents Erik (Reed Birney) and Deirdre (Jane Houdyshell) are in their 60s and have mounting financial troubles, plus the burden of taking care of Erik’s mother, Momo (Lauren Klein), suffering from the late stages of Alzheimer’s. Older daughter Aimee (Cassie Beck), an attorney, is grappling with a debilitating health problem and a lackluster love life (her girlfriend recently dumped her).

Throughout the show, we hear strange sounds, many of which Brigid blames on an elderly neighbor, while others are attributed to a trash compactor. As the show progresses, the sounds become stranger and more jangled and disturbing. Are these the sounds of the neighbor, typical street noise in Manhattan, or something darker and more sinister? This is one of the many enigmas never explained.

The story has all the elements of a crisis-by-the-numbers, formulaic drama, but what sets it apart from others is the crisp, often hilarious dialogue and the onstage chemistry of the cast. Besides the personal turmoil of each character, there isn’t much else to the plot other than everyone is gathered to spend the most iconic American holiday together. The Blakes are folks who are much like many struggling middle-class Americans in the 21st century. They struggle to keep and find jobs and make ends meet and argue about religion and values, or even things as trivial as organic “super foods.”

What’s most remarkable here is the great ensemble acting, expertly directed by Joe Mantello. Mr. Birney and Ms. Houdyshell truly standout, but credit must also be given to the technical and set wizards of the show: David Zinn for his innovative scenic design; the lighting design by Justin Townsend; and the sound design of Fitz Patton because The Humans relies heavily on the set, sounds and lighting to evoke the mood and take the audience on an emotional ride that is already one of the 2015/2016 season’s most-talked-about dramas.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published February 21, 2016
Reviewed at press performance on February 20, 2016

‘THE HUMANS’: Sarah Steele & Reed Birney. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

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BROTHERS IN FOUL ‘FISH’: Larry David & Ben Shenkman at their father’s shiva. Photo: FishintheDark.com

FISH IN THE DARK
Written by Larry David
Directed by Anna D. Shapiro
Cort Theatre,138 West 48th Street
(212-239-6200), www.FishInTheDark.com

By David NouNou

No one knows better about writing quirky, irreverently nonsensical comedies about dysfunctional Jewish families than Larry David. All you have to do is watch a couple of episodes of “Seinfeld” or HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and you’ll get the gist. However, not even Mr. David can write a sustained two- hour comedy without it skidding off track and becoming a long-winded, sitcom episode with a lot of needless characters used as fillers to fill the allotted time for a Broadway show. With the advent of dramedies, comedic plays are becoming harder and harder to write. Not even the great and prolific Neil Simon, whose staple of comedies regaled us in the 1960s and 1970s, could write a sustainable comedy or even a successful revival of any of his previous hits unless they were jam-packed with stars. Remember his last revival of The Odd Couple, dreadful but a total sellout due to Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, and Brad Garrett in the leads.

As sitcoms tackle every imaginable issue, a comedy about the death of the patriarch of a Jewish family, set in a hospital ward with all the stereotypical family members waiting in attendance to claim the spoils, is nothing new. If you are familiar with Mr. David’s works, it usually means it brings out the worst in people; grieving becomes secondary, avarice, greed, lust, shirking responsibilities, and screaming at each other take center stage. So it is with Fish in the Dark. Mr. David aims to please, but the end product is an unsatisfying half-baked comedy. Not even such a superior director as Anna D. Shapiro (August: Osage County, Of Mice and Men, and last fall’s This Is Our Youth) can override Mr. David or his clichéd script.

As the constantly competitive and bickering brothers, the older, Norman Drexel (Larry David) and the younger, Arthur Drexel (Ben Shenkman); two people you wouldn’t want in your life in a moment of crisis, for neither one possesses a modicum of conscience, are awaiting the arrival of their mother and the rest of the family members and arguing in a hospital waiting area. They are there weighing the pros and cons of whether it is worth putting their dying father on a respirator and bickering about their father’s last dying wish on who would take care of their mother after he is gone. Needless to say, neither brother wants that responsibility. The rest of the crucial characters are Brenda Drexel (Rita Wilson), Norman’s wife; Gloria Drexel (Jayne Houdyshell), Norman and Arthur’s mother; Fabiana Melendez (Rosie Perez), Norman’s housekeeper; and Diego Melendez (Jake Cannavale), her son. The other 12 characters are negligible and unnecessary but represent stock sitcom characters usually found in television comedies but in general are rendered useless characters in a tightly written, budget-conscious Broadway show.

If you’ve ever seen Larry David, then you know the character he is portraying; no need to go into character analysis, he is Larry David and the cause célèbre of this shows huge advance sale. Ben Shenkman as the younger brother Arthur, is perfect as the self-absorbed, egotistical, competitive schmuck. Rita Wilson, besides being Tom Hanks’ wife, is also a talented actress; alas, she is wasted as the nagging, shrewish wife. Jayne Houdyshell plays the usual put-upon mother and widow. Rosie Perez in another nasally whining Rosie Perez characterization; and as Diego, her son, Jake Cannavale holds his own against these Broadway veterans, and yes, he does his father Bobby proud.

Last fall’s hot ticket was the star-studded, unfunny name-dropping Terrence McNally comedy It’s Only A Play; this spring’s hot ticket is Larry David’s Fish in the Dark. I’ll say this much for it; it does tap into a new audience share that would not be usually going to the theatre. At the preview performance I attended, there were lots of shouts of “We love you, Larry” hurling down from the balcony.

HUSBAND & WIFE: Larry David & Rita Wilson in ‘Fish in the Dark.’ Photo: FishintheDark.com

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