NEW YORK—Brilliantly directed and expertly cast, this stunning adaptation of Chekhov's The Seagull comes across as a wonderful bit of fresh air with nary a speck of dust to be seen.
A three-hour production, every minute draws the audience into this fascinating world where unrequited love abounds, and tormented artists dwell while jealously guarding their status against those who try to enter their realm.
At the farm of Pyotr Nikolayevich Sorin (John Christopher Jones) in the Russian countryside, his determined and opinionated 18-year-old nephew Konstantin (Ryan O'Nan) is eagerly preparing to present his first play.
Long exposed to theater, Konstantin has a rather contentious relationship with his mother, acclaimed actress Irina Nikolayevna Arkadina (Dianne Wiest), as he serves as her constant reminder she is getting older.
With his uncle, mother, and her latest lover, novelist Boris Alexeyevich Trigorin (Alan Cumming) in attendance, the play, basically an endless speech given by a young girl named Nina (Kelli Garner) begins.
Also present are Ilya Afanasyevich Shamrayev (Bill Christ) manager of the farm, Shamrayev's long-suffering wife Paulina (Annette O'Toole), their daughter Masha (Marian Neshat), Semyon Semyonovich Medvedenko (Gregg Keller) a poor but honest schoolteacher, and Yevgeny Sergeyevich Dorn (David Rasche) the local doctor.
With his work almost immediately received with ridicule and incomprehension, Konstantin abruptly stops the evening's entertainment, but not before all are struck by Nina's beauty.
While Konstantin rails against the snobs and narrow-mindedness of those in the arts, Nina, the daughter of a wealthy neighbor, is flattered by the attention she receives from her new admirers and expresses a desire to make the stage her life's work.
It quickly becomes apparent that no one is really happy, or if they are, they're in their own little world. Irina is in such need of attention and so scared of growing old, she quite literally sucks the air out of every room or moment she's in so she can become the center of everything.
Trigorin hates his passion for writing, as it makes him driven to do nothing else, kind of like a machine in perpetual overdrive. Paulina is in love with Yevgeny and wants him to run away with her, and away from her brute of a husband who runs the estate like a dictatorship, and who also has a mad love for all things on the stage.
Meanwhile Simon loves Masha, who loves Konstantin, who loves Nina. Nina, however, though she loves Konstantin in return, is overwhelmed by the star presence of Trigorin, which leads Irina to try to break up a possible affair between the two. Elsewhere, old and enfeebled Pyotr spends his days looking back on his life with regret while Dr. Dorn is content to be an aging bachelor Romeo with no illusions he will become anything more—despite the chance to do so.
What could be easily be a tired, lengthy soap opera becomes much more thanks to the wonderful translation of the work by Paul Schmidt and especially the sterling direction of Viacheslav Dolgachev, who imbues each of the characters with eccentricities and traits that are funny, endearing, and often both.
These include Trigorin's habit of continually writing ideas in his notebook no matter what the situation; the incredulous reactions from those gathered upon seeing Konstantin's play; the unfiltered idealism coming from both Nina and Konstantin as they get ready to conquer their respective worlds, and the enormous energy of the latter in Act I. (O'Nan reminds one of a wary tiger, always ready to spring into action.)
There is also some delicious over-the-top acting by both Wiest and O'Toole, as well as some bombastic comments from Jones, not to mention several somber truths from Dorn and Trigorin—such as when Dorn tells Port there is nothing medically that can be done for him or when Trigorin decries people who try to remake the art world, saying that there is room for all people and viewpoints. Even Yakov (Ryan Homchick), a hired man on the farm, gets in some good moments, such as his reaction to a miserly tip from Irina.
The entire cast is excellent, with some standout work by Wiest, O'Toole, and Cumming, the latter who completely submerges himself in the role of the driven Trigorin. Also deserving of special motion is Rasche as the dependable doctor and Garner as Nina, who shows the lengths and sacrifices one will make for their dreams.
Perhaps most interesting is that by the end of the show not much has changed for most of the characters. Rather, they are content to play the hands life has dealt them. In the world of the "Seagull," only the dreamers suffer, facing the harsh reality that not all succeed in what they strive for and for those who do, harsh sacrifices must be made. There's also the question that once you've achieved your goals, was the price of getting there really worth it? —A sobering question to contemplate in this altogether masterful production.
The set by Santo Loquasto is wonderful, as are the costumes by Suzy Benzinger, (especially those worn by Wiest), with the lighting design (by Brian MacDevitt) and sound design (by Jorge Muelle) perfectly in sync with the rest of the production.
The Seagull
Presented by Classic Stage Company
136 East 13th Street
Tickets: 212-352-3101, 866-811-4111 or www.classicstage.org
Running Time: Approximately 3 Hours
Closes: April 13, 2008
Judd Hollander is the New York correspondent for the London newspaper The Stage.
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