Kate Hampton as Ellen.

Vanya/Vermont

3/23-4/10/05
Vermont Stage, Burlington, VT

VANYA/VERMONT is a loving adaptation of Chekhov's UNCLE VANYA set in present day Vermont, conceived and directed by Jason Jacobs and extremely well written by Kathryn Blume. Chekhov saw his plays as comedies. Although his characters indulge in self-questioning, he always saw the humor of their human foibles. Miss Blume and Mr. Jacobs have found many parallels between 19th century Russia and 21st century Vermont and have also found lots of humor. There are no good guys or bad guys in either Chekhov or this adaptation - just a collection of people who care about what they do and about each other, sometimes in spite of themselves.

Jenny Fulton's set has echoes of Russia, with its cleverly designed birch trunks and rattan furniture. The set changes, done by the actors, are well staged and maintain the momentum of the play, particularly going into the final scene. Robert W. Wolff's creative lighting provides lovely warm sunlight for the opening scene.

The cast is excellent. Wes Sanders is very good as Richard, a writer who has returned to live on the farm and is referred to as "the prodigal fart". Mr. Sanders shows us the human being beneath the pomposity. Larry Gleason makes a good Astor, the doctor who is preoccupied with both his pocket flask and preserving the land. As the handyman Waffles, Bob Nuner creates a believably dry and amusing Vermonter.

Kate Hampton is a strong Ellen, Richard's beautiful second wife, particularly in her scene with Sonya. Kathryn Blume is outstanding as Sonya. Her comic timing is perfect and her final monologue powerful and moving.

Artistic Director Mark Nash makes an excellent Vanya, giving us all the levels of humor and despair in this most Chekhovian of characters.

Director Jason Jacobs has staged the piece to take full advantage of the intimate playing space. We are caught up in the intensity of communication between the characters. With the help of Miss Blume's script, which contains a reference to hunting as "deer lurking" and some giddy comments about a sugar bush, Mr. Jacobs has succeeded in his goal of injecting humor back into the play. He's also added effective bird song, rain and some nifty music.

Vermont Stage is to be commended for producing a new work of such high quality. Having long been a fan of Chekhov's short stories and plays, I like to think he'd be pleased with this production as a wonderful example of the human comedy.

On a scale of one to five the Vermont Stage production of VANYA/VERMONT gets four and seven-eighths ferry boats. For North Country Public Radio I'm Connie Meng.