The San Diego Union-Tribune
August 26, 1985
McAnuff's Brilliant 'Seagull' is Theater to Treasure
By BILL HAGEN, Film/Theatre Critic
Why good actors revere playwright Anton Chekhov is no great mystery, for few writers so encourage actors -- demand of them -- to take risks, to explore, to improvise, to stretch, to grow.
"The whole meaning and drama of man lies in internal and not external phenomena," Chekhov once said, just as he once described his function as a diagnosis of "the illnesses of the soul." Russian drama.
Not so the La Jolla Playhouse production of "The Seagull," which opened last night and which, under the bold, imaginative, at times brilliant, direction of Des McAnuff becomes a theatrical experience to treasure.
That such an alliance should work wondrously well is not terribly surprising because McAnuff, like Chekhov, is also a proponent of risk-taking and, like Chekhov, relies upon and has confidence in his actors. And that confidence certainly hasn't been misplaced in the playhouse production.
McAnuff, with his exquisitely off-center vision of theater, his refusal to be overawed or intimidated, his kind of whimsical irreverence, transforms "The Seagull" from a melodrama of frustration, of lives foolishly frittered away, which has frequently been the play's fate, into something alternately sprightly and darkly humorous and, ultimately, tragic and moving. It's a remarkable and totally engrossing achievement.
The story revolves around an estate through which passes an eclectic collection of Russian society of the late 1800s, from peasant to aristocracy, the more important of whom seem to be, as Masha (Susan Berman), rebellious daughter of the manager of the estate, says of herself, "in mourning for my life." The others, though, are more discreet about it. Or less outspoken.
Among the principals are Arkadina (Penny Fuller), an aging and self-centered actress embarked on an affair with a younger and more modestly talented and infinitely less secure writer named Trigorin (John Vickery), which leaves her little time for her tormented son, Treplov (Peter Frechette), a novice playwright determined to revolutionize theater.
It will be a struggle because his florid ventures into philosophical naturalism are, as his leading lady and heart's desire, Nina (Phoebe Cates), ingenously tells him, "Your play is very hard to act. There are no living people in it."
It's the sad lot of most of the characters to be in love with one who is not in love with them, unrequited love run rampant. McAnuff intelligently mines the comedy, however bittersweet, inherent in such a situation even as he allows it to drift inexorably toward tragedy.
McAnuff is also courageous enough to risk long silences on stage, and such silences are a vital part of Chekhov's genius as a playwright. McAnuff is also a master at setting up scenes as lovely as impressionist paintings.
But perhaps his boldest move was in casting Cates in the pivotal role of Nina, the young, aspiring and restless actress of whom the seagull of the title is a symbol.
Cates' credits in movies and on television are considerably less awesome than her beauty, but she acquits herself quite well in a very difficult role, imbuing Nina with a kind of innocent, wide-eyed vulnerability but also with a subsurface toughness.
The rest of McAnuff's company is rock solid. Fuller lights up the stage as the thoughtless Arkadina, who is becoming increasingly fearful of time. Berman once again is dazzling, this time as the headstrong, heartsick Masha.
Frechette is a study in agony, most of it self-imposed, and despair; Vickery adds human touches to the character of Trigorin, who comes closest to being a villain; Hall is delightfully addled as the ailing Sorin; Irwin brings imagination and intelligence to what could easily become a lost part; Yulin lends dignity as the doctor; and Hansen and Eaton furnish admirable support.
The sets by John Arnone are outstanding, as are the costumes by Patricia McGourty. Michael S. Roth's music is as beguilingly unpredictable as McAnuff's concepts of the play.
"The Seagull" is heavy going, sometimes even tediously so, but it's given great verve and energy by McAnuff, who suffers no shortage of either -- nor is there any shortage of talent -- and his splendid cohorts. It is, in practically every aspect, a glowing production.
The La Jolla Playhouse production of "The Seagull" will be presented in the Mandell Weiss Center for the Performing Arts on the UCSD campus through Sept. 14.