Moscow!
Adapted from Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters
Directed by Lucy Cashion
Equally Represented Arts
May 28, 2020
Promo Image by Katrin Hackenberg
Equally Represented Arts
Since live theatre is sadly on pause at the moment, several St. Louis theatre companies have been taking the opportunity to experiment with the medium of online theatre in various forms. At the forefront of that experimentation is one of the area’s more daring and inventive theatre company’s, Equally Represented Arts (ERA), who have taken this opportunity to re-present one of their productions via the Zoom video conferencing format. It’s a bold move for a theatre company known for its boldness, and even though it still doesn’t completely fill the void left by a truly live in-person performance, it makes the most of its medium and provides a thoroughly provocative, memorable experience.
Moscow! was previously performed at the St. Lou Fringe Festival in 2015 in a more traditional, live format, although as is typical for ERA, the story, an adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, was done in a unique, experimental manner, in this instance as a drinking game. That structure remains in the Zoom version, with viewers instructed to take a drink every time one of the characters says “Moscow”. In a way, this format works better in a setting in which viewers are watching from home. Of course, you also have more choice of beverages in your own home, whether you choose to drink “high-octane” or “low-octane”–although I would caution viewers to take care, because the characters say “Moscow” a lot. I had to refill my cup twice during the one-hour production, and I was only drinking water. Let’s just say I was well-hydrated by the end.
This production is especially clever, using the Zoom format to its best advantage, allowing for the various cast members to stream from their own homes while maintaining the illusion that they are meeting together when the story calls for that. I was especially grateful for the “after party” talkback session afterwards, in which the cast and crew explained the preparation that went into this production, which featured excellent work from production designer and director Lucy Cashion, costume designer Marcy Wiegert, music director Joe Taylor, and stage manager Miranda Jagels Félix. The video conferencing setup also provided some unique pitfalls, though, such as the viewing format varying according to which way the viewers chose to watch–on smart phone or computer via the app, or on a computer via their web browser. As ideally presented and designed, the viewer was supposed to see the perspective alternating between individual characters’ view, and gallery view in which all characters were visible at once. Some viewers, including myself (watching on my Chromebook with the app), this presentation didn’t come across, Instead, I and others only got to see the alternating focus on individual characters. Still, the pacing the production and performances made it riveting even with the difference in format.
The story is also probably easier to follow if you’re familiar with Chekhov’s original play, which I hadn’t seen or read before. Still, the excellent cast and Cashion’s strong direction made this presentation memorable. The story follows the Prozerov family–the three sisters Olga (Ellie Schwetye), Masha (Rachel Tibbetts), and Irina (Alicen Moser), and their brother Andrey (Will Bonfiglio), who live in a small Russian town and miss their time growing up in Moscow (drink!). Various romantic entanglements, living situation woes, occupational issues, and personal conflicts ensue as several years pass through the course of the story and the characters’ fortunes and life attitudes change according their circumstances. We meet Masha’s nice but not particularly exciting husband Kulygin (Gabe Taylor), Andrey’s controlling wife Natasha (Maggie Conroy), and the dashing soldier and Masha’s paramour Vershinin (Ryan Lawson-Maeske), along with two officers battling for Irina’s affections–the more dependable Baron Tuzenbach (Mitch Eagles), and the impulsive Solyony (Jakob Hultén). The cast also features Carl Overly, Jr. as old family friend Chebutykin, Cashion as longtime family servant Anfisa, who occasionally provides a bit of narration to set the scene, and Joe Taylor (who is playing atmospheric music throughout) as Ferapont. It’s a strong cast all around, with the sisters especially strong with their contrasting personalities, from Schwetye’s more even-tempered Olga, to Tibbetts’s melancholic Masha, to Moser’s initially hopeful but conflicted Irina. Bonfiglio is also memorable as the increasingly bitter Andrey, as is Conroy as the selfish, controlling Natasha. The entire cast is excellent, though, with surprisingly strong ensemble chemistry considering the fact that none of the players are in the same room. There’s a degree of energy here that’s especially impressive considering it’s a streamed performance, although the fact that each performance was done live certainly helps with the energy level.
The shifting tone and pace of the show is also handled especially well, with comic moments punctuating the piece early on, and some moments of poignancy as the story continues. It’s a worthwhile experiment from the always clever and provocative ERA. Even though I still look forward to the day when I can go to the theatre again, productions like this make the wait a lot easier.