Word: staging
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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...than solos or duets or trios--precisely because of the lack of artists with the "star-quality" to fill the expanse of the mainstage and its auditorium. With the possible exception of Bonnie Zimering's dancing, which was a continual joy to watch, there simply was no personality on stage with that combination of talent and egoism that forces one to look at them and not notice the blackness all around. In other words, in performance the show lacked style...
...show as a parody of adolescent writing, there had been no consistent intellectual development or even awareness in the work, nothing to support or direct the emotions they played with. We were left with no idea of what taking that "risk" would involve for any of the characters on stage. However much we might agree with the revolutionary tone of the conclusion, because it was devoid of intellectual direction for the emotion, it became just emotionalism. It was called "open ending" because it was an empty ending...
...played. John Bellucci masterfully plays Vershinin, the philosophizing soldier with whom Masha falls in love. Bellucci works his rich and versatile voice like a musical instrument, retaining extraordinary control of volume, diction and timing in long, technically taxing monologues. He meticulously defines his character by pacing constantly around the stage in repeated circles that parallel his sermons...
Sellars seems to have let his actors develop their own interpretations, chosing to focus on creating a series of stage pictures that reinforce their interpretations. His monumental style, however, is least effective at the very beginning, where a touch more continuity and less mannerism might help the actors introduce themselves and the play's refrains. As it is, the opening portrays the prosaic daily life of the Prozorov household and friends with jerkiness. Perhaps Chekhov intended a sense of alienation from the start, but that shouldn't make the actors themselves look uncomfortable on stage, as they...
...freezing the scene at key moments doesn't speed it up any. But the Chopin behind it all transports the audience into the contemplative melancholy of the play itself--leaving audience, actors and playwright running at the same speed. The tempo lags only in the final act. With bare stage, static blocking and house lights turned up, the staging is faithful to Chekhov's sense of desolation, but also somewhat trying to an audience at the end of a three-hour haul...