It sounds simplistic, even obvious, but theater availability and general entertainment choices are usually limited during a holiday week. Today is Easter Sunday and this week celebrated Passover. The lack of theater, be it touring shows or locally produced work, indicates what happens when audiences are preoccupied by such important events.
Rather remarkably, there are two theater events available this week. Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs offers “Minor Character: Six Translations of Uncle Vanya at the Same Time.” It runs through April 26.
Over the past couple of years, Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” has been the hottest classic work to be produced by theater professionals. Currently, a one-man version with Andrew Scott playing all the roles, is now playing to rave reviews Off-Broadway. Lincoln Center offered a star-studded version last year. The play is a favorite at regional theaters across the county.
This version being offered at Skidmore seems to be one of the most unique looks at the masterpiece that revolves about a loyal middle-aged man being forced off property to which he has devoted his life. Like all great works, the play is open to many interpretations. Some see the title character as a victim of capitalism. Others see him as a loser, who is dependent on relatives for his day to day existence.
At the Janet Kinghorn Bernhard Theatre on the Skidmore campus, you will experience several versions. The school describes the work as, “A kalid a scopic adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya collaging a century’s worth of English translations – from the flowery 1916 version to Google Translate’s profoundly nonsensical rendition – into one sprawling, intimate, quietly disastrous evening. Identity is plural. Communication is an athletic feat. Failure is inevitable.”
That’s certainly a mouthful. What that means is several individuals are re-interpreting various translations of the play from Russian to English. It sounds like a human form of artificial intelligence.
Translators Marian Fell, Laurence Senelick, Paul Schmidt, Carol Rocamora, Milo Cramer and even Google bring their own vision to the story as the different versions collide to tell the same story.
Too, Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, who produced an insightful “Uncle Vanya” last season, is continuing its run of “Polishing Shakespeare” Thursday through Sunday. It deals with the concept of funding for the arts. It asks what should a struggling theater company do when a donor offers a lot of money to convert Shakespeare’s plays into crowd-pleasing contemporary language? It asks what is the cost of dumbing down literature? It runs through April 20.
On the subject of Shakespeare, his 489th birthday is this week Wednesday April 23, and the theater community is throwing the Bard a birthday party. It takes place at Albany Theatre Barn from 6:30 – 9:30. There is live music by Gail Sparlin and Cecilia Gray, several local theater companies will present scenes from Shakespeare’s plays and a few local actors will deliver some of his best known soliloquies. There will, of course, be a cake cutting and a group sing of “Happy Birthday.” Soft drinks and refreshments will be available. Tickets are available at eventbright.com
In a way, this is a tease for a major event happening June 13-15. All funds raised will go to CRAFT ( Capital Region Festival of Theatre) to help raise funds for a planned weekend-long celebration of Capital Region theater. And don’t worry. In a week or two we’ll have plenty of theater available.
Bob Goepfert is theater reviewer for the Troy Record.
The views expressed by commentators are solely those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views of this station or its management.
