Three Sisters
Chekhov’s three sisters would probably be disappointed to find that for all their suffering not much has changed. Indeed, their envisioned future seems more hopelessly idealistic now than it did when this play first opened in 1901 at the Moscow Art Theatre. Almost a decade deep into the 21st century and the same questions the sisters asked as they faced uncertainty are not much different from our own: What is this all for? What are we striving towards and to what end? Does it get any easier? Like these perennial musings—the Prozorova’s are here to stay, and this production does not attempt to trick them up, but pays faithful homage to an enduring classic.
Each sister represents an unfilled hope or dream, while their bookish brother Andre (Scott Sheldon) gets more than he bargained for when he marries Natalia (Cameron Meyer). The eldest, Olga (Vanessa Waters) longs for a secure marriage but winds up a spinster-headmistress. Irina (Murielle Zuker), the youngest, more optimistic of the women hopes that true love and honest work will set her free, but finds that neither proves to be very satisfactory or fulfilling. The middle child, Masha (Susan Ziegler) struggles with disillusionment in her marriage to an older, verbose teacher Kulygin (Alexander Wells) making her vulnerable to the advances from a likewise unhappily married lieutenant, Vershinin (Tom Groenwald). Eventually, Vershinin and the garrison leave the town, leaving Masha with only the bittersweet memories of their brief affair, and her other two sisters equally as bereft with their personal failures.
There is no lacking from this terrifically well-oiled ensemble. While director Jack Stehlin keeps the action simple and direct without any attempts to reinvent the wheel, the cast performs roundly, delivering very stoic and sound turns without any artifice. Some of the dark humor, however, is lost in the dramatic moments that overwhelm the players, particularly in the first act. The characters are not pitiful or pathetic, but misguided, which makes them much more empathetic and human.
Everyone is simply outstanding. From the deaf doorkeeper Ferapont hilariously played by Ronald Hunter and the sweetly submissive Nurse adorably nuanced by Shannon Welles to the Sheldon’s brooding, hen-pecked Andre and Meyer’s detestable Natalia. Ziegler as Masha sizzles with her smart mouth and her chemistry with Groenwald who gives Vershinin a congenial hopelessness. Wells is triumphantly sympathetic as Masha’s forgiving husband content with the way things are. Thomas Kopache makes every role he plays strikingly memorable and as guilt-ridden army doctor Chebutykin he is heart-achingly brilliant. Waters and Zuker are picture-perfect in their respective roles and play them out beautifully. Jonah Bay as the Baron and the rest of the garrison soundly completes this extraordinary cast.
The minimal set design by Kitty Rose easily transitions between the four acts and the seasons from the Prozorov provincial estate in springtime to winter and later, fall. Much of Chekhov’s sterility and bareness resonates through the empty spaces, while Rose includes authenticity through the dining table far upstage and an upright piano for the Baron’s drunken medley. The loveliest transition occurs at the start of Act IV when the cast tosses handfuls of autumnal leaves that scatter throughout the stage. Original music composed by Roger Bellon completes the mood splendidly and costume design by Zale Morris brings out each character’s personality with style and impeccable flair.
With the times as they are right now and everyone asking where are we going and hoping for a change—a change for the better, Chekhov’s three sisters hold out for the future. We hold to these immortal sisters looking out with as much hindsight as Olga who cries out, “Ah, if only we knew, if only we could know!”
“Three Sisters”
Runs through Nov 8
Thurs thru Sat at 8pm
Sundays at 2pm
Sunday, Oct 18 & Nov 8 at 7pm
The Odyssey Theatre
2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025
PH: 310-477-2055
www.OdysseyTheatre.com
www.CircusTheatricals.com