Hedgerow Theatre presents Brian Friel's translation of Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya'

Humor in despair

As in all four of Chekhov's major plays, the characters' frustrations and disappointments lead to much humor -- if the director is sharp, the actors are sincere, and the translation is not wooden. Such is the happy confluence of talents at Hedgerow. Consider the title character: although 47, he's played by younger, dynamic actor Adam Altman, who infuses the role with more impetuous emotion than most. Though openly wounded spiritually and brutally self-deprecating, as most of the characters are in one way or another, he's far from resigned, which would be a dramatic dead end.

The story seems like a telenovela: Vanya adores Elena (Jessica DalCanton), the beautiful young wife of his stuffy old brother-in-law Aleksandr (John Lopes). Vanya's sister died young, but she and Aleksandr had a daughter, Sonya (Jennifer Summerfield), who's madly in love with family friend Doctor Astrov (Jared Reed) -- who is also smitten with Elena. Vanya's mother (Penelope Reed) worships Aleksandr and doesn't understand Vanya.

These actors and the supporting ensemble -- Zoran Kovcic as buffoonish servant Waffles; Irma Mason as the comforting old nurse; Allison Bloechl, Josh Portera, and Mark Swift as workers and singers -- play these characters as people with more vivid passion than they credit themselves and each other with, which is the right approach.

Modern themes

Sebastienne Mundheim's scenic design is a series of tall, gauzy draperies that are moved and sometimes canopied to define each of the four settings, with Hedgerow's stone walls as a backdrop suggesting an era's end. The wispy set, delicately lit by Robin Stamey, creates problems in Act III's climactic confrontation, when awkwardly aligned furniture forces a comic yet heartbreaking encounter through an obstacle course. Making the stage floor a bland tan seems like a missed opportunity. O'Neill crafts beautiful scene changes, however, shaped by Robert Kaplowitz’s original music.

The set abstractly compliments Astrov's passion for the local forests and his despair at their swift demise. "When I am drunk," Astrov laments, "I come up with sociological schemes that will transform society." Reed -- a gifted actor too seldom seen onstage -- is resplendent as Astrov, waxing poetic about how cutting down forests for quick profit destroys the local ecosystem and even the climate. (It's tempting to imagine our president experiencing how Astrov's haunting dreams of a renewed respect for nature play today, but the Tweeter-in-Chief in a theater? Sad.)

DalCanton is another wonderful performer who should grace our stages more. Her Elena isn't the vapid trophy wife one might assume. She has morals and backbone, and is too smart and sensitive to tolerate scandal; her attempt to befriend Summerfield's tortured Sonya shows both -- and Chekhov -- at their best.

I'm excited now for my next Chekhov, because I'm enjoying a roll of bold, inventive, well-acted productions. Next up is Quintessence Theatre Group's Uncle Vanya, in a translation by Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Baker, May 31 through June 18, 2017.