Ivanov
by Anton Chekhov, Translated by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Wayne Salomon
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
April 15, 2016
Cast of Ivanov
Photo by John Lamb
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
Ivanov by Anton Chekov has a rather large cast for the small stage at the Gaslight Theatre. I can’t remember seeing so many people on stage at once in a St. Louis Actors’ Studio production. That could be seen as a problem considering the small stage that STLAS has to work with, but with this latest production, director Wayne Salomon makes the most of the space. With an excellent cast and some inventive staging, Chekov’s play is brought to life in an intriguing, fascinating production.
The story is a critical look at Russian society in last half of the 19th Century. The central figure, the once-vibrant Nikolai Ivanov (Drew Battles) has reached a point in his life in which he is chronically unhappy. His formerly passionate marriage to Anna (Julie Layton)–who gave up her Jewish faith to marry him–is now stagnant and unsatisfying for him. Even though Anna is dying from tuberculosis, Ivanov can’t bring himself to care very much. He’s constantly criticized by self-proclaimed “honest man” Lvov (Reginald Pierre), who is caring for Anna. He’s also beset with pressures, temptations and confusion from others in his life, including his scheming pal Borkin (David Wassilak), the elderly and cantankerous Count Shabelsky (Bobby Miller), and the lovestruck, naive young Sasha (Alexandra Petrullo), the daughter of Ivanov’s old friend Lebedev (B. Weller), whose domineering wife Zinaida (Teresa Doggett) is constantly reminding Ivanov of the money he owes her and is unable to pay. There are more characters and more subplots, but the central dilemma is Ivanov’s struggle to find meaning in his increasingly aimless life.
STLAS’s space at the Gaslight Theatre is tiny, but this company has been able to make the of their limited space time and again. Ivanov is no exception, despite the fairly large cast. The style is generally 19th Century, with Patrick Huber’s wood plank-lined set and Teresa Doggett’s richly detailed costumes, but that set is also marked by fluorescent tube lighting lining the walls, illuminating the stage as the actors rarely leave, even when their characters’ aren’t in a given scene. The performers are kept on stage throughout most of the action, just standing or sitting on the sidelines, sometimes with their backs to the audience and sometimes watching what’s happening on stage. This staging adds to the sense of uneasiness that Ivanov expresses, and it works extremely well. The lighting, also designed by Huber, is particularly striking and effective, as the overall effect of the play is one of increasing depression and futility for Ivanov.
The actors do an excellent job here with this rather talky play, especially Battles as the melancholy Ivanov and Weller as the more optimistic Lebedev. Weller is particularly strong as possibly the most likable character in the play. Petrullo as Sasha convincingly plays the determined young woman who’s prepared to devote her whole life to “saving” the dejected Ivanov. Pierre is fine as the “honest” Lvov, although he does tend to underplay the role. Layton makes a sympathetic Anna, and Miller brings his usual energy and charm to the role of the amoral Count. There’s also a memorable turn by Wassilak as the gleefully manipulative Borkin. The rest of the ensemble is convincing, as well, carrying the tone of the production as the tension builds leading up to a somewhat abrupt conclusion.
One of the biggest issues I had with this play is that the title character isn’t particularly easy to sympathize with despite Battles’s excellent performance. Neither are most of the characters, for that matter. To a degree that seems to be Chekhov’s aim, though, looking at the society and mores of his day and how they would contribute to Ivanov’s growing sense of ennui. The people around him vary in degrees of ridiculousness, and the staging of this production helps to heighten that sense of dissatisfaction. It’s a clever production, well-acted and impressively presented.
Drew Battles
Photo by John Lamb
St. Louis Actors’ Studio
St. Louis Actors’ Studio’s production of Ivanov runs at the Gaslight Theatre until May 1, 2016.
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