Bruce Duling, Julie Hummel, Stephanie Moeller, Mike Turczynski, Eric Landuyt, and Pam Cantrell in Life Sucks
Life Sucks, Aaron Posner’s adaptation of the Anton Chekhov classic Uncle Vanya, is on stage now at Playcrafters Barn Theatre, and we attended opening night. In this comedy, Vanya (Mike Turczynski), his niece Sonia (Adrienne Jane Evans), and their family friends Babs (Stephanie Moeller) and Pickles (Pam Cantrell) all live together in the house formerly owned by Sonia’s now-deceased mother. Their neighbor Dr. Aster (Eric Landuyt) is Vanya’s close friend and the secret object of Sonia’s affections. When Sonia’s absentee father “the Professor” (Bruce Duling) and his current wife Ella (Julie Hummel) arrive for an extended visit, emotions run high. Old wounds have been festering and new ones threaten to open. Directed by Madison Duling, this existential comedy examines some of life’s hardest topics: love, loss, betrayal, depression … . In short: why life sucks.
Mischa: As you know, I’m a big fan of classic theater, including plays by Chekhov, and I also like to see fresh takes on this material. Posner has made a kind of cottage industry of re-writing Chekhov specifically. And in this play, as in Stupid F***ing Bird (which Duling directed for Playcrafters in 2019), the playwright definitely succeeds in making an older play feel contemporary, even post-modern.
Kitty: He does. And this cast does a great job with the conversational tone of the script (though maybe the pacing could be snappier), starting right from the beginning.
M: Yeah, so it’s the cast members, in character, telling you to put your cell phones away and all that, which also perfectly sets the tone for all the fourth-wall-breaking in the show.
K: So much fourth-wall breaking. Does the fourth wall even exist here? Audience members are frequently called on to answer questions or confirm facts. You even contributed the night we were there.
M: My five seconds of fame! I will say that although the rewrite feels absolutely fresh and modern, Posner sometimes tries too hard, even in silly little things such as the subtitle that states the play is “sort of” adapted from Uncle Vanya. That’s really too cute for me. It is an adaptation of Chekhov’s play. Period.
K: You’re right. There are moments when it feels like Posner is trying to outshine Chekhov. It’s almost reminiscent of the Professor in this very show, who is always trying to flaunt his intellect, much to the exasperation of those around him.
M: I actually wish the Professor was played as more of an intellectual bully. Posner’s version seems to level differences. At one crucial moment (spoilers: it’s the scene with the gun), the way he has re-written Chekhov makes it very difficult for the cast to bring off reasonable character reactions to an extreme situation.
K: Yes, exactly! These characters all have extensive and complicated histories with one another, but some characters don’t share the stage very often; so they don’t have as much time to show us their relationships. We have to rely heavily on the exposition for that. Ultimately, I think that was my biggest critique: There was a lot of telling without much showing.
M: Some personas did come through beautifully, though: Sonia’s self-questioning, her worries, her unrequited love; Pickles’ quirky and awkward joie de vivre; Babs’ world-weariness mixed with wisdom. I really enjoyed Evans', Cantrell's, and Moeller's performances.
K: Me, too. I also liked Landuyt's quiet confidence and personable demeanor as Dr. Aster.
M: Sometimes, though, there were mismatches, I guess, or times when the telling and showing didn’t line up?
K: Duling's casting choices were certainly unconventional. And this isn’t a comment on their abilities, but a number of the actors didn’t match the descriptions of the characters they were portraying. For instance, Sonia is supposed to be plain if not outright ugly – which is in sharp contrast with Evans' actual appearance. And the ages of the characters were never completely clear to me because many of the actors’ ages simply don’t line up. Moeller, for example, is decades younger than Babs, whose age is crucial to a big reveal in the second half. Both Evans and Moeller made clear and captivating acting choices, but the audience is asked to ignore some glaring inconsistencies.
M: Vanya himself is sort of the elephant in the room, right? The core of the show? Turczynski came through with a convincing portrayal of self-loathing and frustration, angst and existential crisis, the embodiment of the play’s title. Don’t you think?
K: Weirdly, I thought that his Vanya was actually too likable! Vanya has a reputation for being one of the most tedious characters in dramatic history, and Turczynski’s portrayal, though certainly angsty, had a certain appealing dryness to it. When Vanya is rejected romantically by Ella, I feel like the audience should feel bad for him, but also understand why she would turn him down. But with Turczynski in the role, I felt more like she should give the guy a shot.
M: How about the set that director Duling designed? The whole thrust was covered in rugs, creating a large, open playing space only broken up by a small table and chairs. This was especially convenient for each character’s requisite monologue directed at the audience.
K: And the upstage area was absolutely gorgeous. With its hodgepodge of artwork covering the walls and the assortment of light fixtures hanging from above, it was a solid reflection of the show itself – chaotic but beautiful.
M: All nit-picking aside, this show brings Chekhov’s thought-provoking, important questions to the fore in a way that really works for a contemporary audience. Does life suck? Or are we each maybe just too caught up in the details of our own struggles to see a bigger picture?
K: And I’d say that, ultimately, this cast successfully showed us that bigger picture because at the close of the show, when Sonia is pondering whether or not life does suck, she asks the audience, “What do you think?” And one person in the front row enthusiastically responded, “I think life is beautiful!”
Life Sucks runs at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre (4950 35th Avenue, Moline IL) through November 24, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)762-0330 and visiting Playcrafters.com.
