'The Seagull' Flies High At The Publick Theatre

The Seagull

By Anton Chekhov

Directed by Diego Arciniegas

Set Design, Dahlia Al-Habieli; Costume Design, Rafael Jaen; Lighting Design, Caleb Magoon; Production Management & Sound Design, John Doerschuk; Stage Management, Nerys Powell

CAST (in order of appearance): Ross MacDonald, Yakov; Anthony Cascio, Simon Medviedenko; Lynn Guerra, Masha; Tyler Reilly, Constantine Treplieff; Dafydd Rees, Peter Sorin; Hannah Wilson, Nina Zarietchnaya; Debera Lund, Paulina; Joel Colodner, Yevgeny Dorn; Dennis Trainor, Ilia Shamraeff; Susanne Nitter, Irina Arkadina; Robert Serrell, Boris Trigorin

Performances through September 7 in repertory with Noel Coward's Hay Fever at The Publick Theatre, Christian Herter Park, Soldiers Field Road, Brighton

Box Office 617-454-1444 or www.publicktheatre.com 

The Publick Theatre Boston has a lot going for it, not the least of which is the idyllic setting on a slope above the Charles River at Christian Herter Park on Soldiers Field Road in Brighton. To be sure, there are challenges brought about by the elements, such as aircraft buzzing overhead and dive-bombing moths and mosquitoes, but the trade off is worth it, especially on summer evenings as lovely as this past weekend. One of the joys of the all too brief season in New England is the opportunity to catch a concert or theatrical production alfresco. Unfortunately, only a small number of patrons took advantage on Sunday night, leaving more than half of the seats empty.

My concern that the undersized audience would have a negative impact on the energy of the performers was, thankfully, totally unfounded. In Anton Chekhov's character-driven play The Seagull, every member of this cast gives a fully realized interpretation that commands attention, from the four key roles to the secondary and minor parts. Director Diego Arciniegas sees to it that everyone on the stage is engaged in the scene and with each other, whether delivering a speech or observing, with a verisimilitude that reflects real life. Employing his own new American English conversational style translation from the Russian, Arciniegas succeeds in making the play both understandable and accessible for a broad audience.

The Publick is devoting this season to examining the role of the artist in society. According to Arciniegas (wearing his hat as Artistic Director), The Seagull looks at the price paid and the rewards received in the pursuit of creativity. In doing so, Chekhov utilizes common themes of unrequited love, jealousy, ambition, and regret. Although minimal action takes place on the stage, the playwright provides windows into the psyches of his characters and makes voyeurs of us all, for that is where the true drama occurs. Oftentimes, what is not spoken is as important as the words that are exchanged, especially when the tacit longing or pain is etched deeply on the actors' faces. From the opening scene between Masha (Lynn Guerra) and Medviedenko (Anthony Cascio), it is crystal clear that he is desperately in love with her, while she is unable to return his affections because her heart belongs to another. The heartache seeps from their pores and establishes their story arc for the rest of the play.

Most of the relationships depicted are unhappy, unfulfilling, or downright destructive, yet the play is considered a comedy, albeit a very dark one. Perhaps Chekhov avers that the human condition requires that we laugh, no matter how dire things seem, lest we follow the example of Constantine Treplieff who makes more than one attempt on his own life. Tyler Reilly is excellent as the tormented young man who is trying to find himself, first reflected in the eyes of his beautiful girlfriend Nina (Hannah Wilson), then in the not-so-comforting bosom of his mother, the famous actress Irina Arkadina (Susanne Nitter). He hopes to impress her with a free form play he has written, but she mocks him and compares him unfavorably to her paramour, the acclaimed writer Trigorin (Robert Serrell). To make matters worse, Nina falls under Trigorin's spell and becomes his protégée and lover, distressing both mother and son, and introducing the metaphor of the seagull.

One of the more vocal grumblers is Arkadina's brother Peter Sorin (Dafydd Rees) who, at the age of 60, has retired unhappily to his country estate beside a lake. He laments the life he led as a public servant and regrets that he did not live a literary life or take a wife. He spars with Dorn (Joel Colodner), his doctor, and Shamraeff (Dennis Trainor), the manager of his farm, but seems to find some purpose in the avuncular role he plays in Constantine's life. Rees is convincing as the aging man who fears his impending frailty and lack of control of his own affairs. He carries a cane to steady himself, but he repeatedly changes hands with it and often fails to ground it as he walks which I found distracting for the lack of continuity.

Shamraeff is a bully and a control freak whose wife Paulina (Debera Lund) yearns for affection from the good doctor. Only Dorn seems satisfied with the circumstances of his life and becomes the sounding board for the woes of several of the others. Colodner's gentlemanly self-assurance stands in stark contrast to Trainor's boorish blowhard, providing credence to Paulina's attraction to the former and aversion to the latter. Lund is at her best when she tries to run interference for her character's daughter Masha with Constantine, the object of her unrequited love, and gets rebuffed for it, and when she mirrors the young woman's contempt for Medviedenko in the final act.

Nitter and Serrell combine to make the relationship between Arkadina and Trigorin one of the most interesting. Playing the role of the actress to the hilt, she is insecure, demanding, and self-absorbed and treats him like a bauble with which she decorates herself. She amuses him until someone better comes along in the person of Nina. While Wilson is allowed to gush over him almost from the start, Serrell slowly and gradually shows developing interest – and later disinterest – that is palpable. He reveals the traits of his character subtly, as if peeling back the leaves of an artichoke. Trapped in the confines of his creativity, he toys with Arkadina, Nina, and Treplieff for sport, and Serrell makes both his ennui and his exhilaration believable. Wilson is more than up to the challenge of transforming Nina from a bright-eyed, fame-seeking neophyte actress in the throes of young love with Constantine, to the sadder-but-wiser, frenzied young woman who remains infatuated with Trigorin despite his treatment of her. When she returns to the estate in the fourth act, it is two years later and the bloom is most definitely off her rose.

Chekhov certainly did not write The Seagull as a promo for the artistic life. The hopes and dreams of all of the characters are of the "be careful what you wish for, you might get it" variety. Nina equates fame with happiness, but Trigorin knows better and tries to caution her during a lengthy discourse when he says, "I feel like I am consuming my own life." At the end of the day, he seems to be speaking for everyone in the play who doesn't get what they want – or gets what they don't want. Even Arkadina, the celebrated actress, has nothing but her career and is still so insecure that she cannot enjoy or share the monetary success or the spotlight, effectively destroying her chance for a meaningful relationship with her son or any man.

All of the pieces of this production fit together like hand and glove, but special mention must be made of how apt the location is for this play in particular. The Charles River could almost be billed as a member of the cast for the part it plays in creating a mood. Kudos to Set Designer Dahlia Al-Habieli for the wall of triple French doors at the rear of the stage which draw the eyes of the audience toward the water and replicate Sorin's estate. The furnishings and costumes are casual and appropriate for the country and the era. Microphones are placed strategically around the perimeter of the stage, but are not always sufficient, especially when the speaker is facing upstage. Lighting is not an issue before the sun goes down, but the final act could be brighter. The story is dark, but I wouldn't want to miss the ending.