Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow

Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow

The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space

August 15, 2019

Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

Playwright Halley Feiffer takes a highly effective look at Chekhov’s Three Sister in her unconventional adaptation.  Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow is dark, zany, and poignant.  The characters are truthful and clear mirrors of Chekhov’s characters.  Their yearning and despair is viewed through a lens of absurdity, which makes their loneliness and desperation that much clearer and more identifiable.  Through succinct timing and a heightened style, director Tripp Cullman skillfully unifies this magnificent cast of twelve to engage and enlighten the audience through laughter and self-contemplation.

Chris Perfetti, Tavi Gevinson, & Rebecca Henderson
Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

We are in a house on the Russian countryside in 1900.  Olga (played by Rebecca Henderson) goes on and on about how unattractive she is.  Irina (played by Tavi Gevinson) is selfishly focused on the fact that it is her birthday.  Masha (played by Chris Perfetti) is absorbed in her book.  They all long to return to Moscow, but can’t… but don’t know why… so they are unhappy.  Very unhappy.  Their brother Andrey (played by Greg Hildreth) plays the violin and aspires to study science and achieve greatness, but instead falls in love with a local girl, Natasha (played by Sas Goldberg), who the sisters consider to be a low-class whore.  Tuzenback (played by Steven Boyer) is madly in love with Irina, but she doesn’t give him the time of day.  He introduces the family to Veshinin (played by Alfredo Narciso), who becomes attracted to dark and brooding Masha.  She madly reciprocates, even though she is stuck in a loveless marriage with closeted Kulygin (played by Ryan Spahn).  They all want more out of life, but can’t get it… but don’t know why… so they are unhappy… but we see and understand, and laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Steven Boyer & Matthew Jeffers
Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

This entire cast is truly phenomenal.  Out of tightly timed high comedy scenes come genuine moments of hurt and sorrow, that are then topped off with a laugh.  Each character is truthfully drawn, carrying sincere hurt in their hearts.  These actors portray them in such a way that we distance ourselves from them in order to get a more precise view of who they are, which causes us to connect even stronger.  The humor is raucous.  The timing takes us out of the moment, then plunges us back into the darkness of their pain.  The play is skillfully written.  The production is masterfully conceived and directed.

Greg Hildreth & Sas Goldberg
Photo courtesy of MCC Theater

If you have not seen MCC’s new space on 53^rd St. and 10^th Ave, check it out as soon as you can.  The space is sharp, and offers a great opportunity for this company to step up and stand out.  This production is a sure sign that they will be doing just that.  Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow Moscow is playing at The Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space through August 17.  Time is running out, so get your ticket before it’s too late.

Domenick Danza

Days of Rage

Days of Rage

Second Stage Theater

Tony Kiser Theater

November 24, 2018

Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

What happened to the ideals of the youth of America?  Where is the revolutionary spirit that wasn’t afraid to stand up and protest against an unjust war?  Playwright Steven Levenson takes us back to that time with Days of Rage, now completing a successful run at Second Stage Theater.  It is 1969 in Ithaca, New York, and a handful of college dropouts form a collective to join the revolution for change in America.  Director Trip Cullman finds the perfect pace to tell this powerful and vital story, fueled by the angst of the time period.

While Jenny (played by Lauren Patten) is handing out leaflets and trying to motivate college students to join a protest in Chicago, she meets Hal (played by J. Alphonse Nicholson).  She tries to recruit him, until he reveals that his manager sent him out to ask her to move away from the front of their store before he calls the police.  She returns to the collective house she shares with Spence (played by Mike Faist) and Quinn (played by Odessa Young) to discuss the bleak outcome of their recruitment efforts and their financial difficulties.  The next day Hal tracks Jenny down to continue their political discussion and explore their personal connection.  Spence meets Peggy (played by Tavi Gevinson) who is eager to join the collective.  Spence is hesitant to bring her back to the house, but she has something they are in desperate need of, $2,000 cash.  After two of their friends who left the collective house are killed in a bombing attempt, the group is followed by men they believe to be FBI.  Their trust in one another and dedication toward their political beliefs are put into question.

Lauren Patten & Mike Faist
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

All five of the actors are phenomenal.  Their chemistry is electric and their timing is impeccable.  Lauren Patten portrays Jenny's intensity with clear determination.  She is driven by the optimism of her ideals, yet torn by the changing focus and violent direction of the collective.  Mike Faist delivers some of the comic relief with brilliant timing and quick wit.  Odessa Young’s Quinn is dark and brooding, while Tavi Gevinson upsets the norm with rebellious blabber and a hidden secret.  J. Alphonse Nicholson is grounding and rational as Hal, offering the other characters a different perspective on the truth.

  

Odessa Young & Tavi Gevinson
Photo courtesy of Second Stage Theater

In the final scene Spence and Quinn offer a glimpse into the future as they prepare for the Chicago protest.  They see the world moving forward without much improvement and their rebellious efforts turning into fabled stories they pass onto the next generation.  Question: What purpose do their “days of rage” serve?  Answer: To raise a voice that incites action and keeps the world continually moving forward is a constant necessity, regardless of the outcome.

Days of Rage is a powerful play about the values of raising our voices and how the past propels into the future.  This extraordinary Second Stage Theater production closes on November 25.    

Domenick Danza