A group of Russians — still just learning capitalism — find that anything can have a price tag put on it in Victoria Nikiforova's Hidden Fees.
Vasya (Matt Raines) finds himself suckered into a real-estate ponzi scheme. His sister (Nicole Kontolefa) wants a child but needs her priest-slash-boyfriend to pay for a surrogate to carry the embryo. Enter prostitute Amanda (Jill Dion), who's after Vasya, but all he really wants is to bed the sexy loan officer (Karen Tararache) who's handling his building loan, which will eventually bankrupt him. Throughout, Jesus (Vasanth Santosham) looks on in dismay.
Nikiforova sets in motion what should be a fascinating glimpse into post-Communist Russia, but working with a stilted company-created translation, director Raphael Schklowsky's slipshod production quickly proves wearisome. Undermined by technical difficulties, the seemingly underrehearsed ensemble works tirelessly but to no avail. This show about commerce proves to have one real cost: the audience's time.
Presented by Studio Six Theater Company as part of the New York International Theatre Festival at the Cherry Lane Theatre, 38 Commerce St., NYC. Aug. 8-22. Remaining performances: Tue., Aug. 12, 9 p.m.; Tue., Aug. 19, 2:30 p.m.; Thu., Aug. 21, 2:30 p.m.; Fri., Aug. 22, 9 p.m. (212) 279-4488 or (866) 468-7619 or www.fringenyc.org.