The Cherry Orchard

I can't say I'm a huge fan of "the classics".  But occasionally, I do know it's good to see some of them to expand one's horizons.  And there's one theatre, aptly named, in town that I always head to for my fix - Classic Stage Company.   The last play in their Anton Chekhov cycle (and Chekhov's final play) is The Cherry Orchard.

I did a little reading on Chekhov.  I'm pretty sure most of what I didn't like was his play itself.  Perhaps a bit of it was the mood and artistic interpretation that director, Andrei Belgrader, took too.  Were those 4th wall breaches in the script?  Did we need a dog?  Did someone really need to give up his seat for the old chambermaid?  Well, without much proof (and no desire to go read the script from cover to cover for stage directions), i'll just lay it in equal parts on the author and the director.

What I can be sure of is that the work is epic, poetic, and contains all sorts of oddly comedic characters that are supposed to represent the 19th Century Russian society.  The play is a comedy, but borders on farce.  It's really what today we would call a socio-political satire.  In this case, falling importance and wealth of Russian aristocracy, the freeing of and rise of the peasant class, land ownership, wealth distribution, and the blurring of the lines of class and position in society.  While the play itself seemed oddly formal or maybe a bit stilted (perhaps that is my un-cultured ear), that was completely offset by several fine performances throughout.

The dashing and commanding John Turturro and the beautifully effervescent Diane Wiest held court on the pizza-pie shaped, appropriately stained white canvas stage the entire evening.  The absolutely adorable and boyish Michael Urie made us laugh at his travails, and, not one but, two Waterston sisters took to this stage - Elisabeth as a bold attention seeking chambermaid and Katherine as the dutiful daughter.  Daniel Davis wore a cream suit suit to complement his blazing white hair and Roberta Maxwell deadpanned her absurd lines to much delight.  Josh Hamilton made being a lifetime student look easy and Alvin Epstein charmed us with his elderly gentleman humor.

A truly fine ensemble cast all around and a classic and sophisticated set as I have come to expect from CSC time and time again.  After watching it, discussing it afterwards with my play-going-friend, and now writing this, I can say for sure that I'm still not a classics-lover.  But what I can also say is that when a great ensemble cast such as this is gathered - sometimes the works come to life and resonate in ways you didn't expect.   I won't run out and buy the complete anthology of Anton Chekhov any time soon, but I would encourage you to run down to CSC and get a ticket to see this fine production if you're so inclined.

Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling

As I was leaving Adam Rapp's new play being presented by the Atlantic Theater Company at the Classic Stage Company's stage while they undergo a major renovation project on their own stage in Chelsea (the show must go on...), I was reminded of a simple little saying that a dear friend of mine and I have been repeating for for  many years now.  It goes something like this:   "You know, , there's something wrong with everyone".   Simple.  Accurate.  Apropos.

Mr. Rapp's obvious distaste for the ultra wealthy, wall street philanderers, and general ostentatious-ness of the wealth and power in the state of Connecticut (or otherwise) could not be more obvious.  Christine Lahti (Sandra Cabot), Reed Birney (Dr. Bertram Cabot), Cotter Smith (Dirk Von Stofenberg), and Betsy Aidem (Celeste Von Stofenberg) form a double power couple tag team of wealthy, disturbed, and simply put, rich assholes, who have ruined their children aptly played by Shane McRae (James Von Stofenberg) and Katherine Waterston (Cora Cabot) - and quite possibly also the lives of countless others in their quest to be "on top".   Mr. Rapp's clever dark comedy allows only a single beam of light and normalcy to shine throughout the play and her name is Wilma (Quincy Tyler Bernstine) and she is the black maid for the Cabot family.

This seemingly innocuous tale starts out to be a simple gathering of old friends for dinner in an opulent home in suburban Connecticut.  It ends up, assisted by Mr. Rapp's bizarre plot twists and scathing dialogue, with two murders (one animal, one human), with a passionate and explicit sexual encounter involving the two children (i saw that one coming a mile away) and the revelation of countess adult indiscretions and numerous crimes likely perpetrated by one or more of the dinner party attendees.  Wilma, the aforementioned black maid to the rich white folk, is positioned as both a physically and economically stereotypical maid but is brilliantly and subtly charged with being the only character who sees past it all and brings a transcendent sense of normalcy to the entire scene.  With this, Mr. Rapp, I was quite impressed.

Now, if only I could stop thinking about those poor geese!

Kindness

Adam Rapp has penned a tense, emotional, and darkly brilliant work that recently debuted at Playwrights Horizons.  I read somewhere that it is partially based on a real life experience in Mr. Rapp's youth.

The mesmerizingly intense story takes place all in a few hours in a New York City hotel room.   A mother from the mid-west played by Annette O'Toole (Nash Bridges, Smallville) takes her son, Christopher Denham (Master Harold and His Boys, The Lieutenant of Inishmore), to New York City with the explicit agenda of having "one last good time" to see a "big Broadway show". 

You see, she's got cancer and is dying.  He's what you might call a "classic American child"  - and by this i mean - a troubled, lonely boy of a broken home who claims to care about nothing, but really cares more than anyone will know.   Probably covers at least 50% of the population under 18 years old.  While at the hotel, Denham meets a mysterious young woman, Katherine Waterston (daughter of Sam Waterston) who draws him into her tangled web.  

Rapp's dialogue is calculated.  O'Toole portrayal of the sick mother was both physically convincing and emotionally brilliant.  Denham seems to have mastered the power of quiet introspection, hesitation and curiosity.  You soon learn that his overt actions say "i don't care", while his covert actions, body language, and emotions suggest otherwise.  Rapp infuses comedy at the most appropriate points.  He even takes a unique opportunity to poke fun at theatre audiences and standing ovations.  Very clever, Adam.  And very well received by the audience.  I did wonder how the audience sitting on the far left got to see the very funny opening scene.  I'll leave it at that.

I actually think the cast deserved a standing ovation at the end, but we were all so sensitized by the joke during the play - it didn't happen!