‘Three Sisters’

The New Jersey Shakespeare Festival brings Anton Chekhov’s dark play to life.

By: Stuart Duncan
   The New Jersey Shakespeare Festival in Madison is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters with one of the most accessible productions of the work in memory. The playwright himself, upon finishing the writing, complained to a Moscow producer: "The play has turned out dull, protracted and awkward — awkward because, for instance, it has four heroines and a mood, as they say, gloomier than gloom itself."

Laila Robins (right) plays Masha and Caralyn Kozlowski is Irina in the New Jersey Shakespeare Festival’s production of Chekhov’s Three Sisters.

   Director Bonnie Monte and a group of exceptionally well-cast actors have brought the play to life, finding gentle laughs that ripple pleasantly in the philosophical cement. Truisms, uttered in despair, manage to give hope; and balletic scene shifts give a majesty to the evening seldom before seen. No matter how familiar these characters are, many will feel they are meeting them for the first time.
   There is probably no need to go into the plot, other than to say this is a play about three sisters — Masha, Olga and Irina, who live with their brother, Andrey, in a large house in a provincial Russian town far from Moscow. Mother and father have died but are remembered frequently, mostly by the old doctor who lives with the sisters, paying infrequent rent. Some troops have been barracked in the town, and the officers provide most of the entertainment, socially and romantically. In fact, when the troops leave, Chekhov’s play ends, and with it the dreams of the sisters.
   The company is seamless. Laila Robins plays Masha, the eldest sister, with such a sense of repressed sexuality that when the dam bursts late into the evening, it is almost embarassing in its intensity. Remy Auberjonois, a newcomer to the Festival stage, brings a simple humanity to the role of Tuzenbach seldom seen, then adds dignity. As Irina, Caralyn Kozlowski is flirtatious on the surface, yet admittedly unable to love.
   John Michael Reilly, as the bookish Kulygin, never raises his voice above conversational level, yet gets more laughs than in many of his past flamboyant roles. Yes, there is humor here, the gentle needling among family members, skirmishing constantly. Lisa Powers as Natasha marches straight into the firestorm of family protest, easily overpowers Paul Mullins as her husband, Andrey, and finds imperious powers. It is a superb performance.
   Angela Reed as the middle sister, Olga, is a beacon of intelligence and consistency. Joseph Siravo’s Vershinin is most appealing; Jeffrey Bender’s Solyony is nicely disruptive. And Edmond Genest has found just the right mixture of senility and pathos as the old doctor Tchebutykin.
   Among the cameo roles, Kathy Mattingly as the ancient nanny and Norm Anderson as Ferapont, the old manservant, have delicious moments.
   The set design by Harry Feiner is minimal. The functional furniture is moved by the entire cast and crew with split-second accuracy.
   "Dull, protracted and awkward" — I beg to differ.
Three Sisters continues at The New Jersey Shakespeare Festival, 36 Madison Ave., on the campus of Drew University, Madison, through July 29. Performances: Tues.-Sat. 8 p.m.; Sat. 2 p.m.; Sun. 2, 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $18-$41. For information, call (973) 408-5600. On the Web: www.njshakespeare.org