He died in 1904, but Anton Chekhov suddenly seems to have become the poster boy for Off-Off-Broadway drama. Though few if any of his plays are being revived this summer, revamped versions of classics like The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard have premiered -- including two takes on Three Sisters set in contemporary New York -- as well as two new historical plays that turn Chekhov himself into the main character.
Chekhov and Maria, now at the Barrow Group Arts Center, explores the writer's last days, when he was struggling with deteriorating health, attempting to finish The Cherry Orchard, and arguing with his sister Maria while living at her home in Yalta. In a tragic twist of fate, playwright Jovanka Bach, upon finishing her drama about the dying Chekhov, died of cancer in January at age 69. The current production has been directed and produced by her husband, John Stark. (A television film for Bravo is also in development.)
The biggest flaw in Bach's play is how both acts are cut into short five-minute scenes separated by blackouts and costume changes. They interrupt the drama's otherwise coherent flow of action and create too many long, uncomfortable pauses for the audience to bear. Nevertheless, Ron Bottitta and Gillian Brashear deliver powerfully subtle performances as a brother and sister confronting restrained emotions in the midst of life's complications.
Presented by John Stark Productions
at the Barrow Group Arts Center, 312 W. 36th St., 3rd floor, NYC.
July 7-30. Thu.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.
(212) 868-4444 or www.smarttix.com.