Read our review of the latest take on Chekhov’s tragicomedy, helmed by award-winning director Lila Neugebauer.
Theyre haunted by could-have-beens, to varying degrees of awareness.
But who are we to judge a plight so distinctly human?
Steve Carell and Alison Pill in ‘Uncle Vanya’.Marc J. Franklin
Sonia becomes a lovestruck teenager, and Vanya a bitter jester.
Carells take on the character lacks Vanya’s defining inner turmoil until it explodes out of him.
When his pivotal moment comes, Carell rises to the occasion stiffly, but effectively.
Uncle Vanya.Marc J. Franklin
The play’s famous climactic scene sees a gun fired (twice) following a rage-wrought emotional breakdown.
Carell is impossible to look away from in that moment and in many others.
His despair is frenetic, ever-palpable thanks to Harpers naturalistic performance.
William Jackson Harper and Anika Noni Rose in ‘Uncle Vanya’.Marc J. Franklin
He crafts an Astrov who actively engages his unhappiness: courting it then batting it away.
