Riot Act's Site Specific Chekhov Adaptation GROSS OLD MAN Premieres In LA Arts District Loft

Los Angeles theater company Riot Act will present Gross Old Man, a hyper-intimate and site specific adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at Crawlspace LA, a private artists loft in Downtown Los Angeles. Adapted by Whit Flint and staged by director Rory James Leech, the play opens September 12th and runs through September 22nd. This limited run will welcome only 25 audience members per night for eight performances only.

Based on Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, which has become a cornerstone of the global theatrical canon since it's premiere in 1899, Gross Old Man updates Chekhov's tragicomedy for a contemporary heartbeat, reinvigorating the story with the same life and contemporary edge it had when it first premiered. The show's description reads: "Within an isolated four walls a family wrestles with their paralyzed existence. Surrounded by the coma of loneliness and the atrophy of hope, a microscopic discovery reveals jagged internal cracks. Chekhov's brutal exploration of the gasps of missed connections and the massacre of dreams amongst the oblivious and the tortured- both a picture frame of raw human desire and ghost story of what haunts. A prescient, absurdist folk song to a changing world and the melodies of melancholy".

Whit Flint, who penned the adaptation and serves as Riot Act's Artistic Director, leads the cast as Johnny. He is joined by a mix of theater veterans and fresh faces, including Natalie Battistone as Sophie, Emily Hope Vazquez as Elena, Anthony Gaskins as Micheal, Janellen Steininger as Mama, Akul Dang as Waffles, and John Atkins as Alex. Rory James Leech, whose work includes Fear of Kathy Acker and FAUSTPILLED, directs and designs the production. He is joined by stage manager Heather Friedman and dramaturg Hailey Mashburn on the creative team. The production is presented in partnership with Crawlspace LA, Missile Studios, and Misfit Toys Collective.

Riot Act, founded in East London in 2015 by Whit Flint, is no stranger to Chekhov - in fact, Flint considers Chekov to be a cornerstone of Riot Act's mission. During the company's foundational days in East London, Flint adapted and directed adaptations of The Seagull, Ivanov, & Three Sisters, retitled Dirty Bird, Poor Bastard, & Mopey Wrecks, respectively. When Riot Act found its new home in Los Angeles in 2022, its inaugural Los Angeles season opened with Bad Person, an adaptation of Chekhov's early and often forgotten Platonov. Subsequent LA performances include Blindness and the Periphery of Sight, a contemporary take on Oedipus, and Science Fiction, a cosmic love story and revenge play, each presented on an intimate and immediate scale. Other Riot Act work includes adaptations of Shakespeare and Ibsen, contemporary premieres of works by Annie Baker, and world premiere plays written by Flint.

"Chekhov's voice is profound and prophetic - his plays hold a psychological and dramatic lighting bolt at their center" says director Leech. "We find ourselves in an epidemic of loneliness - and Chekhov's work locates our innate melancholy and contradictions and gives voice to that which we bury. Inviting the audience into this home and letting them find themselves in the wood is incredibly exciting, and unlike any other theater in LA at the moment".

Tickets are on sale now through TixTree, with tickets ranging from $25-$30, reinforcing Riot Act's commitment to creating equitable and accessible access to theater. The address of the venue will be sent directly to patrons upon their purchase of a ticket. The performances run Thur-Sun at 8:00pm from September 12th through September 22nd.

To post a comment, you must register and login.