Love, lust, betrayal and other family values...
Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya at Playreaders
By Gerry Camp

Theater
Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya
San Miguel Playreaders
Sept 19–(N)20, Doors open at 7pm
St. Paul’s Church
Cardo 6

Theater lovers in San Miguel are in for a rare treat when San Miguel Playreaders presents Anton Chekhov’s classic Uncle Vanya, September 19–(N)20. The play takes place at the country estate of Professor Alexander Serebrayakov at the turn of the 19th century in Russia. The professor has moved in with his new, young and beautiful wife Yelena, turning the lives of everyone on the estate upside down.

The estate had been managed for 20 years by Vanya, the brother of the professor’s first wife, now deceased and the professor’s daughter, Sonya. Vanya is in love with the professor’s young wife, and Sonya is in love with the local doctor, who is also infatuated with Yelena. Passions rise, especially when the professor discloses his plan to sell the estate, an announcement that drives Vanya, who believes the estate really belongs to Sonya, to a murderous fury.

Sounds a bit melodramatic? Well, it is that, but Chekhov conceived of his plays as comedies, so the audience is invited to see the absurdities each character represents as well as his/her desires and disappointments. One thing we can guarantee—(M)you won’t once think you are just watching a classic. You will be on the edge of your seat the entire play, eager to see how it all works out. The version of the script we are using is an adaptation by David Mamet (Oleanna) which means that the language is contemporary, not a stilted “classic” translation.

The play will have a new look for Playreaders. We are presenting the play in an arena staging, with the audience on all four sides of the action. Being no more than one row away from the play, members of the audience will almost feel like asking Nanny for a cup of tea. With the audience this close, the actors will be able to whisper as well as shout and still be understood.

The play features some of San Miguel’s most distinguished actors: Henry Vermillion (Play It Again, Sam, Diary of Anne Frank) as Vanya, Joanna Bryne (Eleemosynary, Drinking Alone) as Yelena, Geoff Hargreaves (A Man for All Seasons, Waiting for Godot) as the Professor, Britt Zaist Vermillion (Play It Again, Sam, Shining City) as Sonya, and Michael Gottlieb (A Man for All Seasons, Impossible Marriage) as the Doctor. Supporting roles are played by Dennis McCarter (The Diary of Anne Frank, Night of the Iguana), Paula Clark and Siobhan Bryne (both of whom have long acting careers spanning many roles). Dic Simandl is handling the lights and sound, and Gerry Camp directs.

The play is at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Doors open at 7pm, and the play begins at 7:30pm or sooner if the house is full.