Review: Listening to ‘Uncle Vanya’ With Virgin Ears

Until a reviewer sits in the last row or two at a Richard Nelson show, I will from now on disregard their fondness for his work. I have seen two of his shows now, and find it truly frustrating to feel so disrespected by a director.

The Times reviewer praises the “intimacy” created when audience members lean in and “eavesdrop” on the sometimes almost whispered delivery of performers in this production. I figure the reviewer had a front row seat and COULD just lean in to catch Chekov’s dialogue— but audience member sitting some five or more rows back back in this theatre-in-the-round production had no such luck. My friend and I saw the play last night and leaned in as far as we could—and I saw others also clearly straining to hear—but we simply MISSED whole segments of speech, especially that of the women and the soft-spoken doctor and whenever performers were turned away from us. Tiny microphones were hung all around above the actors—and speakers also were in place—but when I asked one for the stage technicians afterwards if the microphones and speakers were actually turned on, she said they were, but that the SOUND WAS TURNED WAY DOWN—again, to give the audience the sense of overhearing something intimate. I’d advise anyone wanting to see and HEAR this play to arrive early and grab a front row seat. Then the approach (gimmick?) might work very well! But I think this production, as well-acted as it truly seemed to be, was as arrogant in its attitude toward the audience as that of the preening art-critic it clearly condemns.

"When Mr. Sanders’s Vanya finally erupts into a violent denunciation of not just those around him but of everything he once believed, the vicarious pain feels almost too immediate to bear." So why did they stage this moment with Sanders' back to half the audience? At the most emotional moment of the play, all I felt was annoyed - at the director's smugness toward the audience. Just wanted to get this minor comment off my chest...

Sonya Sonya , Sonya where for art thou Sonya ! Last week I saw a mash-up production of Uncle Vanya and Romeo and Juliet that was so misguided I left at intermission. Today I saw the very tidy soto voce production of Vanya at Hunter . Jay O. Sanders's performance is riveting ! He is so Present and audible in every scene .He owns the stage. But our heart must go out to Sonya and when it doesn't break for her something is lost in translation.

The show did not live up to my expectations. Chekhov is a great writer but the show has too much negative energy.

My wife and I saw this play Saturday night and continue to talk about it at length days later. Having seen several other productions on film and in NYC theaters, I couldn't agree more with Mr. Brantley (a rarity); I felt I was hearing Chekhov's words and sensing these characters as living, embodied human beings for the very first time. With the simplest set, costumes and lighting, we felt the cooling air, heard the storm, smelled the hay rotting outside. Each character desperate to hold onto some kind of honor through the role they have been handed by life and taken on, while just below the surface we sense the despair and anguish of the life in them unlived. Mr. Sanders' humor is a revelation as Vanya, his struggle building until you truly believe he is on the verge of madness. And I am eternally grateful to Ms. Arias and Mr. Pennington for bringing Yelena and The Doctor to life. Yelena is usually played (as Mr. Brantley says) as glamorous/cold/confused, the Doctor as a drunken playboy; but from these actors, their humanity, complexities and struggle came through in each line. Thank you also to the director and translators for one of the most memorable and moving experiences we've had in the theatre in a while. Published in 1898, this play also explores climate change, income inequality/class consciousness and sexual harassment. Sunday we rented Vanya on 42nd Street, a film we both remembered fondly, and couldn't get through it. Go see Chekhov for the first time.

I am just beginning rehearsals for "Uncle Vanya" here. A homegrown personal process with a brilliant director, David Abrams. So happy to read about this intimate, simple but profound production at Hunter College. Jay O. Sanders was so...so memorable to me in Tad Mosel's "All The Way Home" when I training at ACT Young Conservatory many years ago. How I wish I could see this production. Enjoy every word, you beautiful actors and audiences...Chekhov is a gift.

One of my great theatre memories: Mike Nichols's production of 'Vanya' in 1973. What a cast!

To me, this did not have an across-the-board wow factor as the review communicates, but is still a show that should be experienced if you have the chance. The theater-in-the-round setting is worth the price of admission alone. I recommend getting there at least 45 mins early and get a seat in the 2nd row to be up front but still get some elevation on the stage. IMHO, the production hit on most cylinders, with the actress playing Sonya being the standout. She reminded me of Juliet Binoche. But all of the actors give an interesting spin on their characters. The 1;45 playing time passes in a flash,

Saw this production today. It is a small miracle. Instead of observing, I found myself really listening as if I were sitting at the table among the characters, perhaps ready to speak. Truly affecting and the best Vanya I’ve seen.

Merci Mr Brantley, for writing so humbly and clearly, directly from the heart about this masterpiece. The companion article by the director, about the inspired new translation, also sheds a lovely light. It makes you want to spend it all to come to New York... I love this play since a lifetime and have seen several versions, pretty good and pretty bad. But there is one that might deserve similar praise, the first one for me. It's a Russian film, made by Andrey Konchalovskiy, before he came to the U.S., in 1971 (& the State kept the rights, it seems). With the great Sergey Bondarchuk as Dr Astrov; though too old for the role he still excels in it. It's also a kind of quiet explosion of emotional insight and social ecology. Your review, Mr Brantley, flooded my memory with grateful sadness.

Oh dear. Wish I could see it. But it'll never happen. What must that have been like? Living in the age-old, ever crumbling Russian Empire. That presented such an imposing facade to the world--a glittering and resplendent Tsar with his bevy of Grand Dukes--bowing courtiers and bejeweled ladies. . . .. (. . ."Beautiful!" sighed George Balanchine, when asked for his recollections of the Tsaritsa. "Like Grace Kelly.") . . .. all so swiftly, so dramatically swept away in just a few years. "We were bundled off the stage," recalled one Russian aristocrat, "without being given time enough to change out of our beautiful costumes." And Dr. Chekhov. That medical man with weak lungs and piercing eyes that missed nothing. Not without heart. Not without soul. Not without compassion for these strange Russians and their love affairs, their little imbroglios, their little heart-aches-- --and (deep down maybe) that inescapable sense-- --that very soon things would be falling to pieces. Oh, how I WISH I could see this play. And you who HAVE seen it-- --congratulations! What wonderful memories you will have. Lasting a lifetime, I expect. Enjoy them! . ..

We saw this excellent Vanya last week at the small auditorium next to the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College. Nelson replicates his Apple Family "kitchen table" plays with a spot-on Vanya adaptation, even though it dropped a couple of characters. Nelson favorite Jay O. Sanders is a heartbreaking Vanya. The rest of the cast is fine, especially Jon DeVries, another Nelson veteran, as the professor. Quite a few students were in the audience, lucky to have this breathtaking production as their first Uncle Vanya.