Lantern Theatre Company Presents UNCLE VANYA, 10/21-11/21

Lantern Theater Company opens its 2010/11 season with a celebration of the influential work of Russian playwright, short-story writer, and physician Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) during the 150th anniversary year of his birth. The Lantern will present its first-ever production of a full-length Chekhov work with Uncle Vanya (Oct. 21 - Nov. 21), directed by the Lantern's Associate Artistic Director Kathryn MacMillan. The company will also present a weekend of special events with The Chekhov Festival from November 5 - 7.
 
Set in the provocative, tragicomic world of Chekhov's Russia, the Lantern's fresh interpretation of Uncle Vanya is bursting with passion and fierce humor. Vanya and his niece Sonya have toiled for years to keep the family estate going. When Sonya's father, the retired Professor Serebryakov, and his dazzling young wife Yelena return for a visit, all work comes to a halt. Old resentments explode into arguments and secret longings come to light.
 
"Uncle Vanya is one of my favorite plays. It is heartbreaking as well as hilarious, and the combination is powerful," says MacMillan. "Chekhov is celebrated, justly, for the depth of his characters - so much simmers beneath their surfaces. We have a fantastic ensemble of actors, truly one of the finest assembled in Philadelphia this season. I'm eager to make this journey with them."
 
The Lantern's production of Uncle Vanya begins previews on October 21, opens on October 27 (press night, 7:00 p.m.), and closes on November 21, 2010. [A full performance schedule follows in the fact sheet below.] Tickets are $20-$36 and are available online at www.lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. $10 student rush tickets are available 10 minutes before curtain with valid ID; cash only. Additional discounts are available for seniors and groups of 10 or more. The Chekhov Festival will run November 5 - 7. Event admissions vary, and an All-Access Festival Pass is available for $70. Subscriptions for the 2010/11 season range from $72-$168. Lantern Theater Company is located at St. Stephen's Theater, 10th & Ludlow Streets in Philadelphia.
 
Cast & Production Team
In the title role is Peter DeLaurier who says he has "wanted to play Vanya for about 25 years." DeLaurier is a multiple Barrymore Award-nominee and winner for Outstanding Actor for his performance in the one-man show Underneath the Lintel at the Lantern, where he also previously appeared in Skylight and QED.
 
DeLaurier's wife Ceal Phelan will portray the role of Maria, Vanya's mother. Phelan was seen last season at the Lantern in The Breath of Life, for which she has been nominated for a Barrymore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.
 
David Howey, who has appeared on Broadway and London's West End and is currently Head of the Acting Program at the Brind School of Theatre at The University of the Arts, plays Professor Serebryakov. Sarah Sanford portrays his young and beautiful wife Yelena. Sanford is a finalist for this year's F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Theatre Artist and has appeared in numerous productions at the Lantern, including The Government Inspector, Othello, and La Ronde.
 
The cast also features Melissa Lynch, who makes her Lantern debut as Professor Serebryakov's daughter Sonya; as Astrov, Charlie DelMarcelle, who recently starred in Amaryllis Theatre Company's production of I Am My Own Wife; as Telegin, David Blatt, who appeared at the Lantern in last season's Henry IV, Part I; and Ann Gundersheimer as Marina, also making her Lantern debut.
 
Sets are designed by Meghan Jones with costumes by Millie Hiibel, both of whom worked on last season's Happy Days at the Lantern. Both Lighting Designer Thom Weaver and Sound Designer Christopher Colucci return to the Lantern after their Barrymore-nominated work in last season's The Breath of Life.
 
The Chekhov Festival, November 5 - 7
Presented in conjunction with Uncle Vanya, The Chekhov Festival will feature a series of special events, readings, and discussions with scholars over dinner, offering deeper insight into the work of one of the greatest writers in the history of world literature. A full schedule of festival events follows below.
 
Friday, November 5
6:00 p.m., FREE
Festival Kick-Off Party: Mingle with Lantern staff, artists, and fellow theatergoers over complimentary light fare and happy hour specials.
Location: Marathon Grill, 10th & Walnut Streets
 
7:15 p.m., FREE
Curtain Raiser: On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco, a Chekhov one-act starring Joshua Browns
Location: the Lantern; 10min
 
Saturday, November 6
2:00 p.m., $12 ($10 for subscribers and students)
Chekhov Shorts: Letters, Lovers, and a Lapdog
Selections: The Bet directed by Joshua Browns, Lady with Lapdog directed by M. Craig Getting, and Chekhov in Love directed by David Howey
Location: the Lantern; 90min
 
4:30 p.m., $35 ($30 for subscribers and students)
Scholars' Dinner: Chekhov: Mingling the Ordinary with the Extraordinary, with guest panelists Toby Zinman and Patricia Denison, moderated by Kathryn MacMillan. Admission includes a three-course meal of salad, choice of entrée, and dessert with coffee or tea, plus one free drink at cash bar.
Location: Fergie's Pub, 1214 Sansom Street
 
7:15 p.m., FREE
Curtain Raiser: The Death of a Government Clerk, a Chekhov one-act starring Charles McMahon
Location: the Lantern; 12min
 
Sunday, November 7
1:15 p.m., FREE
Curtain Raiser: On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco, a Chekhov one-act starring Joshua Browns
Location: the Lantern; 10min
 
7:00 p.m., $12 ($10 for subscribers and students)
Chekhov Shorts: Letters, Lovers, and a Lapdog
Selections: The Bet directed by Joshua Browns, Lady with Lapdog directed by M. Craig Getting, and Chekhov in Love directed by David Howey.
Location: the Lantern; 90min
 
2010/11 Season
Lantern Theater Company will continue its 2010/11 season with Between Heaven and Hell: The Anthony Lawton Festival (December 3 - 19, 2010); A Skull in Connemara by Martin McDonagh (January 13 - February 6, 2011); A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (March 10 - April 10, 2011); and Vigil by Morris Panych (May 19 - June 12, 2011).
 
Lantern Theater Company thanks its 2010/11 season corporate partners at Marathon Grill, La Fourno Ristorante Trattoria, and Dunkin' Donuts, and its community partners at St. Stephen's Church. The Chekhov Festival is supported by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and Marathon Grill.