Summary
Anton Chekhov, one cynic said, wrote comedies without laughs. Pathos, insight, self-perception: yes. Guffaws: no. That will not be said of Tom Stoppard's adaptation of Chekhov's first masterpiece, The Seagull (1896). His version premiered in Central Park six years ago with a vertigoinspiring cast headed by Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken. Without cheapening a line or fudging on the many darker themes, Stoppard delivers a text that allows us to see real humor in the many characters' plights.
That's because Jakes-Johnson has been shaping the character in every scene, drawing attention from Konstantin's playlet with her disgusted reactions. The performance illuminates all of [Irina]'s subtext, the vulnerability beneath the brassy exterior. In the egalitarian world of undergraduate performers, they may be no "stars" (bios are omitted from program, leaving only the production staff), but it seems likely that director [Anjalee Nadkarni] essayed this Chekhov because she knew she had Jakes-Johnson for that all-important role.Then again, a drama instructor could not ask for a better teaching tool than The Seagull, the initial flop that was transformed by Konstantin Stanislavski's 1898 remounting. Many of the student actors are indeed apt pupils, giving the whole of their assigned characters. Among the best-realized, and most amusing, is [James Murphy]'s old [Sorin], along with [Kristin Renee Noriega]'s [Nina] and Boiler's Trigorin. [James Brenchley]'s Konstantin combines a bit of Prince Hamlet with Holden Caulfield, a railer against falsity. Other players compel us with resonant if barely hidden gestures, like [Kate Miller] as [Polina]'s crushing of a small bouquet, or Kate Miller as Nina's telling turn of a pale neck. Even Adam O'Donnell, in one of the most thankless roles as the teacher [Medvedenko], turns a speech about walking home in the rain into resignation to the grimmest of fates.See the full content of this document
Extract
Bird Is the Word
Bird Is The Word
Chekhov's The Seagull makes a perfect landing at Le Moyne CollegeAnton Chekhov, one cynic said, wrote comedies without laughs. Pathos, insight, self-perception: yes. Guffaws: no. That will not be said of Tom Stoppard's adaptation of Chekhov's first masterpiece, The Seagull (1896). His version premiered in Central Par...See the full content of this document
Sponsored links
