“White nights” refers to the long, lingering twilights occur at far northern (and southern, of course) latitudes such as Russia. A gathering of people having tea just before dusk is happening several times currently in town. It’d be a good idea to join them.
Rebels and Misfits’ Immersive Theatre Project is giving us an utterly charming take on Chekhov with Uncle Vanya: Valiantly Accepting Next Year’s Agony. Staged in a private home in Ladue that’s now occupied by the Serebryakovs and their guests and staff – a lovely dacha far from the nearest town – it manages to make Chekhov downright lighthearted at times.
Both through Kelly Hummert’s direction and the excellent casting, it seems not unreasonable to believe we’re at that dacha, not a handsome mid-20th century home. Retired literature professor Serebryakov (Peter Mayer), who had been widowed, and his much younger and very beautiful second wife Yelena (Sophia Brown) have come to live there. It’s a largish property that also houses his daughter from the earlier marriage Sonia (Francesca Ferrari), the mother-in-law from that marriage (Suzanne Greenwald), and his late wife’s brother, Ivan, known as Vanya (Andrew Michael Neiman). Dr. Astrov (Jim Butz) is a frequent visitor, and there’s the nanny for the multiple generations (Donna Weinsting) and Waffles, a fellow who lives on the land (Kent Coffel).
Don’t worry about keeping the Russian names straight in your head. You’re not going to get these characters mixed up. And for all the characters that seem frequently to complain of boredom, things move smoothly, and, thanks to the setting, it’s easy to believe that we’re just invisible sprites watching this family work their way through love and lust and ennui.
It is indeed a cast crackling with energy that sparks at both the expected times and the unexpected. Jim Butz’ monologue in the kitchen is marvelous and his interaction with a beeping appliance is fully, hysterically, in character. I suspect the malfunctioning appliance is a one-time phenomenon, but there’s enough improv chops in this crowd that there’s more where this came from. Brown’s steaminess is well-controlled but easily identified, helped along by Christina Sittser’s costumes, including Brown’s slituptohere dresses, making for easy striding and flouncing. Mayer’s aging professor, a man who wants the help to address him as “Your Excellency”, grouses and grumbles and glares as we try to discover if he’s really the great man, or if he’s just fooling everyone including himself.
Neiman’s Vanya comes to us as a fascinating guy, not quite verging on being a ne’er do well, but having more-or-less contentedly been spinning his wheels these past decades despite his apparent intellect. Ferrari’s Sonia, aside from her one obvious passion, is a woman of mystery, a quiet facade almost completely covering competence and energy. Weinsting’s nanny has a good time running the tea party and tossing in the occasional pointed remark.
This is a production with great zip, beautifully conceived and executed. The location and specifics are on the website – see the section titled Rules of Engagement. Because of the size of the venue, tickets will be limited, and it sounds like they can’t be bought at the door, or, in this case, the driveway. Wear flat shoes; you’ll be walking on a lawn for a bit.
Uncle Vanya: Valiantly Accepting Next Year’s Agony
through September 3
Rebels and Misfits
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