Theater: “The Seagull/Woodstock, NY” starring Parker Posey @ New Group

Fun facts about Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull”: he wrote it in 1895 as a comedy. On opening night, it was booed so loudly, the actress playing Nina was completely intimidated and lost her voice.

Since then, “Seagull” has been performed in dozens of countries, in many languages (from Afrikaans to English to Russian) and by a pantheon of international greats. The Russian actor/director Stanislavsky leads the list, followed by, among others, Uta Hagen, Meryl Streep, Ethan Hawke, Philip Seymour Hoffman (we saw that one), and Natalie Portman.

But none of them starred the redoubtable Parker Posey as the fading actress Irina. She dominates this smashing reinvention of the original, now called “The Seagull/Woodstock, NY” which just began previews at The New Group.

Playwright Thomas Bradshaw has changed the setting from a country estate in Russia to a weekend house in Woodstock co-owned by Irina (now “Irene”) and her gay friend Samuel (David Cale). Her son Kevin (Nat Wolff), as nutty and sensitive as they come, is about to entertain guests with his new play which stars his GF Nina (Aleyse Shannon). Both play and Nina’s acting turn out to be awful.

Another weekend guest is Sasha (Hari Nef) a young heiress who dresses in black (“I’m in mourning for my life”) and who can hurl a witty epithet faster than a Justin Verlander pitch. She pines for Kevin while ignoring handsome young Mark (Patrick Foley) who’s in love with her. Meanwhile, Irene’s new BF William (Trigorin in the original) is a successful novelist who’s suddenly making eyes at attractive young Nina.

The complex interplay of relationships has led some directors over the years to treat “Seagull” as pure drama. Director Scott Elliott and Bradshaw treat it the way Chekov intended it: as a comedy. And nobody does funny like Parker Posey.

Over the decades, she has become our own Talulah Bankhead. When she leaves the stage, we can’t wait for her to return. In “Seagull” she switches effortlessly between narcissistic diva, concerned mama, and jealous GF, demonstrating she’s still got the wit and the acting chops to make a play great. She’s 54 btw and looks at least 10 years younger.

I suspect we may have been one of the few in tonight’s good-looking, early-preview audience who weren’t actors or directors. But you don’t have to be connected with the theater to love this production, nor do you have to know the original plot (which this production follows to a tee, btw). I think Chekhov would have laughed his garters off. The great Stanislavsky? Maybe a giggle or two.

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