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'Uncle Vanya' allows the audience to eavesdrop

Just about everyone knows by now how intimate the space is at the Sheryl & Harvey White Theatre inside the Conrad Prebys Theatre Center in Balboa Park at the Old Globe complex.

The White is the perfect space for the introduction of "Uncle Vanya" - a cozy spot to observe Russian author Anton Chekhov's characters as they manage their daily lives in the last days of the 1890's.

As the story begins in a peaceful, rural setting amongst a forest in the Russian countryside, Uncle Vanya (Jay O. Sanders) sips vodka with his pal Mikhail (Jesse Pennington), the country doctor. It is a July afternoon.

Meanwhile, curious family members wander through the homey kitchen adding to the conversation while preparing a delayed luncheon. Most of the conversation tends to be about the disturbance by company and how it can upset one's schedule.

As it happens Sonya's (Yvonne Woods) father, Alexander (Jon DeVries) has recently arrived at the family estate with his new (very young) bride, Elena (Celeste Arias), who now is Sonya's stepmother. To add to the tension, Elena is younger than her stepdaughter, Sonya. And as guests often do, they are disturbing the family's clock.

In a startling approach to theatre, director Richard Nelson adapted a much under used technique, observation.

And in that fashion, the audience is the "fly on the wall". We are the observers. We did not watch a "play" where people had lives on stage, we are in the room quietly watching and eavesdropping if you will.

Once when asked about his stripped-down approach to writing, Chekhov said, "if there is a rifle on the wall in the first chapter and it hasn't been fired by the third, get rid of it" or something of that sort.

Recognizing that as we overhear conversation, the very conversation we are to overhear can be muted, each audience member was urged to use a listening device. And it is important in order to catch all of the dialogue. Rating 7 out of 10.

"Uncle Vanya" runs through March 11, at the Old Globe complex, in the smaller White Theatre in the round noon to final curtain Tuesday through Sunday. For tickets, call the box office: (619) 234-5623. Parking can be difficult; try prepaid Valet Parking, $14, by contacting the box office.

 

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