Theater: “Uncle Vanya” at Lincoln Center
Lilia Neugebauer is New York’s director of the moment. She directed “Appropriate” at Second Stage and “The Ally” at the Public, recent productions we enjoyed very much. So how the deuce did she produce such misguided results in the new Lincoln Center production of “Uncle Vanya”?
The story of bored-and-simple country folks living in Nowheresville, Russia circa late 1880s has been updated to bored-and-simple country folks living in Nowheresville, America in the 2020s. You know we are in modern times because water is drunk from a Yeti thermos and there’s a mosquito zapper on the patio .
The lovely language of Chekhov has been taken and “modernized” by Heidi Schreck who wrote the overrated “What the Constitution Means to Me.” The language is vulgar, trite and belongs in the worst of the worst sit-coms from the 1990s.
Stanislavsky said Chekhov’s plays were comedies at heart. Unfortunately this production of “Vanya” version which is played strictly for laughs is not the least bit funny. Audience members laughed anyway. Probably because of Steve Carrell.
Carrell may be fine for “The Office,” but he is all wrong as Uncle Vanya. He lusts after Elena (the voluptuous Anika Noni Rose), who is married to his late sister’s husband, Alexander, with all the subtlety of a teenage boy (or maybe a 40-year-old virgin). William Jackson Harper fares somewhat better as the alcoholic doctor Astrov for the simple fact that unlike Carrell he knows how to act and is truly funny.
Such a waste of talented actors, too: in no particular order, they include Alfred Molina, who is slightly more than serviceable as Alexander, the city sophisticate who is summering with the country rubes; Alison Pill who at age 39 should not be playing the teenage Sonia; and Jayne Houdyshell who wears a fright wig and looks like Grandmama from “The Addams Family.”
On a positive note, the set by Mimi Lien was lovely and our seat partner was very amiable. He liked the play but then added, “I’m visiting from Germany.” Be advised; if English is not your first language, you may actually enjoy yourself.
Final note: in an interview with the NYT, Ms. Neugebauer has said, “I’m just 38 but I guess I’ve now lived long enough for the play to break my heart.” Be advised, you just broke ours.
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