‘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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‘MORNING SUN’: Blair Brown & Marin Ireland. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

MORNING SUN
Written by Simon Stephens
Directed by Lila Neugebauer
Through December 19, 2021
Manhattan Theatre Club
New York City Center Stage
1
131 West 55th Street
(212-581-1212), www.NYCityCenter.org

By David NouNou

Morning Sun by playwright Simon Stephens captures the essence of the 1952 painting “Morning Sun” by artist Edward Hopper. The painting is of a woman in a pink slip, sitting on a bed staring outside her window, at the city. The Playbill lists the three women in Mr. Stephens’ play anonymously as 1, 2 and 3. Like the painting, these women live an abstract life, almost Bohemian in nature. However, as the play progresses, the abstract shifts to isolation and survival in the city.

At the onset in the dark, 1 (Edie Falco) keeps asking “is it safe, am I safe?” and the voices reply “you’re doing just fine, everything is okay.” It poses the question is 1 in labor giving birth—or is it at another stage of her life? As the lights come on, we learn that 2 (Blair Brown) has come to the city in 1947 and just got a two-bedroom apartment in Greenwich Village for $75.00 a month while working at Macy’s. 2/Claudette gets married, and her husband moves into this apartment and they have a long marriage. 2/Claudette gives birth to 1/Charlotte, which takes us back to the beginning, was it safe for 1 to come into the world or is it another stage of her life.

1/Charlotte prefers the name Charley and lives in the same Village apartment as her parents. She doesn’t ask much of life. She has a best friend as a child, but is betrayed by her as an adult. She gets pregnant from a one-night stand with a pilot, and gives birth to a girl, 3 (Marin Ireland) and she names her Tessa. 1 has a 10-year relationship with a semi-abusive man who leaves her for another woman. She works at St. Vincent’s Hospital until it shuts down. She ultimately meets Edwin, a medical supplies salesman, with whom she moves out with to Colorado.

3/Tessa has a difficult life, no real father; just father figures. She lives with her mother and grandparents in the same Village apartment. She has a tough time whether coping in school, in her childhood, with her job, and when her mother decides to move to Colorado.

1, 2 and 3 play multiple characters, both men and women, thus the abstract, but they essentially play mother, daughter and granddaughter who love each other but have a tough time connecting. They represent the strong willed, the survivor, and the loner. They are connected but all three women live in isolation. The beauty here is the seamless connection these women portray. They are three separate women but can speak as one.

Edie Falco gives a gut-wrenching performance as 1/daughter and survivor. In lesser hands, the character might seem a loser; however, Ms. Falco imbues Charlotte with every noble quality a woman can possess. Blair Brown, as 2/mother and strong willed, is fearless. Like a great wine, she gets better with age and experience. Marin Ireland, as 3/granddaughter/loner and a multiple array of other characters, is becoming one of the finest actresses of her generation. She has grown as an actress from her earlier outings in reasons to be pretty  and The Three Sisters. Her Tessa is heartbreaking and her switching from one character to another is seamless.

Simon Stephens has written a lovely abstract play about the connection of three generations of women.  Director Lila Neugebauer gives everything focus, but Edie Falco, Blair Brown and Marin Ireland give the show its pulsating heart.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 3, 2021
Reviewed at October 30, 2021 press preview performance.

‘MORNING SUN’: Edie Falco & Marin Ireland. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MORNING SUN’: Edie Falco & Marin Ireland. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

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‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: Joan Allen & Elaine May. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

THE WAVERLY GALLERY
Written by Kenneth Lonergan
Directed by Lila Neugebauer
Through January 27, 2019
John Golden Theatre
252 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200),www.TheWaverlyGalleryOnBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Kenneth Lonergan has not so much penned a play as he has written a slice of life. Some people may call it a memory play as in Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie in which Tom recalls the past and his family. Yet here Daniel Reed, played by the wonderful Lucas Hedges, doesn’t so much recall the past but explains in each successive scene his grandmother’s plight. His grandmother, Gladys Green, is radiantly played by the indomitable Elaine May.

The play opens with Gladys conversing with her grandson Daniel in her Greenwich Village art gallery about his life, his job, and things in general. She talks to him about his parents’ broken marriage and the fondness she and her deceased husband had for their son-in-law. She recalls her past and her joy of meeting new people. This is all done in a loving and nurturing but a bit repetitive manner. At first this comes across as funny because Elaine May has the knack of wringing humor from the most mundane of lines; but as the scene progresses the repetitiveness becomes more serious because Gladys isn’t so much as eccentric as she is developing the early stages of dementia.

As the story unfolds, Don Bowman (Michael Cera) enters the gallery. He is an artist who has moved from Massachusetts to New York to sell off his pitiable art and the only place that will take him in is Gladys. She believes all artists deserve a chance and enables him to showcase his art in her space, a so-called gallery.

Wednesday nights are reserved for dinner at Ellen (Joan Allen) and Howard Fine’s (David Cromer) home. Ellen is Gladys’ daughter, mother to Daniel and wife to second husband Howard. It is here where we begin to see Gladys’ deterioration. Ellen is the bastion of strength in the family, one who looks after Gladys and has to deal with the problems that begin to arise on a daily basis. She is ultimately the one who has to decide what happens to Gladys once she is informed that she is losing her gallery space and how this loss will affect Gladys when she has no place to go to fill her days.

Again, let me reiterate what we see here isn’t so much a play but actual life that Mr. Lonergan has put into words. He totally connects the dots of the start of Alzheimer’s disease, to the progression and the inevitable unreasonable demands that are unwittingly made by the patient. The effects it has on the family, when they take on the responsibility and refuse to allow the loved one go into a nursing home. Although this may sound very depressing, Mr. Lonergan has framed it with humor, which makes sitting through it a cathartic experience.

For a play of this nature, you have to start with an outstanding ensemble cast. I have to start by thanking Elaine May for bringing my late mother (who suffered from the same disease) to life and showing, with heartbreaking accuracy, what she went through those last few years of her life. Ms. May captures every nuance of so many of these patients and she does it exceptionally. One can’t imagine the toll it must take on Ms. May, but her performance is nothing short of remarkable.

Lucas Hedges is at the forefront of young actors and already has classic films under his belt. Mr. Hedges last year had his Oscar-nominated role in Manchester by the Sea and received critical raves for his work in Lady Bird and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Mr. Hedges stars in the much-anticipated, soon-to-be-released Boy Erased. He makes an auspicious Broadway debut here and hopefully he returns frequently because he is equally at ease and engaging in front of a camera as well as with a live audience.

Michael Cera, earlier seen this spring in his Tony-nominated role in Mr. Lonergan’s Lobby Hero, is almost unrecognizable, as he has shed his baby-faced looks by growing his hair and a beard, to play a hapless young artist. He is perfect as this guileless artist trying to survive in the big city.

It is great to see Joan Allen back on the New York stage inhabiting a very difficult role of trying to be a cold and disciplined daughter who has to say no and rein in her unruly, deteriorating mother, but also be caring and compassionate. David Cromer, who is a Tony-winning director, is equally adept at acting. His performance is dictated by his artistry of being an impeccable director. Lila Neugebauer directs everyone with sharp precision.

What makes The Waverly Gallery a must-see is that it is a life history lesson. It captures our past and what we were, it captures the present of what we have to cope with, and it captures the future for a preparation what may be in store for a loved one or for us.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 29, 2018
Reviewed at October 28, 2018 press performance.

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: Elaine May. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: (left to right) Lucas Hedges, Elaine May & Michael Cera. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: Lucas Hedges & Elaine May. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: Lucas Hedges & Elaine May. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: Joan Allen. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: Lucas Hedges. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: Lucas Hedges. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: Lucas Hedges. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

‘THE WAVERLY GALLERY’: Elaine May. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

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