UNCLE VANYA Comes To Life In A Chicago Factory

January brings many transformations, but one of the most unusual being anticipated by those who follow theatre here is the transformation of a northside titanium parts factory into the fading estate that is the setting for Anton Chekhov's UNCLE VANYA. Despite Chicago's long history of innovative theater, it's safe to say there's never been a production of a Chekhov play inside a working factory that specializes in "titanium rack design and fabrication for anodize, hardcoat and electropolish."

With only 35 seats per show, the intimate production sponsored by The New Theatre Project will take place inside a manufacturing operation called Servi-Sure, located at 2020 W. Rascher Street. The play opens January 9th and will run weekends through February 1st with tickets available at https://unclevanya.my.canva.site.

Directed by Spencer Huffman, the production will feature some of Chicago's most prominent actors--- including Lawrence Grimm in the title role, as well as Jeannie Affelder, Richard Esteras, Rae Gray, Jean Marie Koon, Olivia Lindsay, Ken Lumb, Jonathan Shaboo and Jonathan Weir, with Maddy Hudson understudying.

"This play defies a single definition. At one moment, it's a meditation on crippling apathy, the next, a sad portrait of mid-life lust and resentment, and finally, a devastating window into the depressed mind. And through all of this, somehow, it's hilarious," Huffman said.

This is the second collaboration between Huffman, factory owner Chris Angus, and producing partner L.C. Bernadine, who introduced the two when Huffman was considering locations for a production of a different play, Caryl Churchill's FAR AWAY. The resulting short run of that play in early 2024 ended up with a cover story in The Wall Street Journal and a waiting list of 200 people. On the night the show closed in his factory, Angus turned to the team and asked, "What are we doing next?"

Factory employees will be among the first to see the play at a private dress rehearsal being performed the day before the show opens to the public. With patience, amusement, and "remarkably little annoyance," according to Angus, the factory's employees have followed the development of the VANYA project since rehearsals began in late November. Sometimes they find stray reminders of the theatrical work that happens in the factory after it closes for the day: a scrap of fabric, a post-it note, a chair that wasn't there the day before.

"Do you remember those children's books where magical people secretly live in your house, but nobody sees them?" said Angus. "It's a bit like that."

For his unusual production, Huffman has chosen Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Annie Baker's adaptation of the Chekhov classic, a version which brings colloquial language to the famed tale of resentment and yearning. Baker's adaptation was created to be as familiar to the contemporary American ear as the original was to Russians in the provinces during the play's first productions there in 1898.

Many of the actors cast in the show have rearranged complicated schedules in order to be part of this production. Rae Gray, who plays Yelena, and Jonathan Shaboo, who plays Astrov, have made it their first project after returning from national tours of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and THE KITE RUNNER. Richard Esteras, familiar to audiences through his recurring role on "The Bear," commutes from his home in Gary, Indiana.

Lawrence Grimm, a co-founder of A Red Orchid Theatre, says he has "been in hot pursuit of Chekhov as an actor" for years. "The lives and loves that escape us because of time and circumstance remain eternally relevant for me," Grimm said. "The opportunity to bring Vanya to life with this cast, in this environment, with a visionary director is a great gift."

Cast: Larry Grimm (VANYA), Olivia Lindsay (SONYA), Jonathan Shaboo (ASTROV), Rae Gray (YELENA), Jonathan Weir (THE PROFESSOR), Richard Esteras (WAFFLES), Jeannie Affelder (MARIA), Jean Marie Koon (MARINA), and Ken Lumb (YEFIM).

Creative & Production Team: Producing Partner is LC Bernadine. Producer is Chris Angus. Production Stage Manager is Anna Vu. Lights & Set are by Emily Blanquera. Fight & Intimacy Coordinator is Max Fabian. Costume are by Myron Elliott. Sound is by Caleb Ramos. The understudy is Maddy Hudson. Photographer is George Hudson

Tickets via The New Theatre Project at the button below.

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