Review: UNCLE VANYA at The Oasis Theatre Company

Several years ago, I attended a production of The Cherry Orchard. Before the show began, a castmate of mine from another production leaned over from the row behind me and whispered to me, almost conspiratorially, that "Chekhov is.....challenging", with the apparent implication that she hoped the actors were up for the task (in my estimation, they were).

That comment has stuck with me, though, and I would be lying if I said it wasn't on my mind tonight as I headed to Teatro Paraguas to see The Oasis Theatre Company's production of Uncle Vanya.

This production, my friends, makes Chekhov seem the opposite of my castmate's implication. Not that it's dumbed down - far from it - but through Brenda Bynum's excellent direction, the fabulous edit by David Mamet, and the obvious dedication and talent of the actors, I was treated to an immensely engaging, accessible, thought provoking, evening of theatre.

Uncle Vanya, of course, portrays the visit of an aging, ailing, art professor, Serebryakov, and his beautiful, much younger second wife, Yelena, to his late wife's country estate (which supports their bourgeoisie existence). The brother of the art professor's late wife, Vanya, and his country doctor friend, Dr. Astrov, both become enamored with Yelena; meanwhile, Vanya's nephew, and Yelena's step daughter, Sonya, suffers unrequited love for Dr. Astrov. Serebryakov makes a rather selfish proclamation in the third act, which brings the events of the play to their boiling point.

Though the above synopsis largely lists conflict, make no mistake - Uncle Vanya contains a great deal of humor, and Ms. Bynum's direction led her actors deftly from comedy to drama and back, often within mere moments.

The set and costume design (both also by Ms. Bynum) were lovely and effective, and the character led set changes were very well done (one received applause at one point). Jeff Tarnoff's lighting design was also well done and executed. All tech supported the story and performances, as it should.

It is hard to single out individual performances in this production, because the ensemble as a whole worked so well together and was so strong. However - James Jenner, as Vanya, was wonderful. His Vanya was delightfully curmudgeonly, and devastating as the drama reached its fever pitch in the third act. Argos MaCallum was at the same time both immensely sympathetic and charming as Telegin, or "Waffles", the impoverished landowner. Nicholas Ballas was charismatic as Dr. Astrov, and made it easy to understand Sonya's infatuation with him.

As for the women, Jody Hegarty Durham was the very picture of grace and elegance as Yelena (a role that might otherwise be easy to make rather unlikeable), and Joey Beth Gilbert's Sonya shone in her scenes with Mr. Ballas. Juliet Salazar provided the calming, rational presence in the bourgeois chaos in her interpretation of Marina, the family nurse.

The rest of the cast, including Steven Oakey, Jojo Sena-Tarnoff, and Armando Hernandez, also turned out strong performances, rounding out the company of this well executed production.

Uncle Vanya runs Thursday's through Saturdays at 7:30 and Sundays at 3 through October 28 at Teatro Paraguas (3205 Calle Marie, Unit B). Tickets may be purchased at the door, online at https://www.theoasistheatre.com/, or by phone at (917) 439-7708

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