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Regional Reviews: St. Louis An Orchard for Chekhov Also see Richard's review of The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe
The Latin-flavored comedy, inspired by the great Russian playwright, runs about two hours with a ten minute intermission at the Marcelle Theater and is set in present day Rio de Janeiro. Graceful palms shade an elegant tropical set by Patrick Huber. And a grand old actress, Alma, played by the formidable Sally Edmundson, takes over her daughter's apartment as she prepares to mount Chekhov's famous play. Pedro Brício's Um Jardim para Tchekhov premiered just a year ago in Belo Horizonte, before the show embarked on a tour that took the cast through Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and Brasilia (this is considered normal for a successful play in Brazil). The playwright was nominated for a Shell award for "Best Author," and now Steven K. Smith has written this English translation, making its world premiere in St. Louis. It is (as you'd expect) funny and sad, and full of fresh, introspective moments that blossom under the direction of Upstream founder Philip Boehm. And it's everything you'd hope for from Chekhov himself: shaped by strange echoes of humor, even in the production's naturalism and yearning and broken spirituality. The cast is hyper-realistic, but threads its way into modern comedy as well: Jocelyn Padilla plays Alma's long-suffering daughter Isadora, and Aaron Orion Baker is Isadora's soccer-obsessed husband Otto (and later a funny theatrical producer). J. Samuel Davis is ethereal and even more exotic as Chekhov himself, in scenes with Ms. Edmundson. Their moments together have a highly polished give-and-take to them: the slightest gesture by Alma draws a complementary alteration in the stage picture from this Chekhov, as if the pair were speaking fluently in a secret body language. Sarah Wilkinson is Alma's young acting student, Lala, and gets one of the show's greatest Chekhovian moments near the end. Ms. Wilkinson throws herself into the absolute "not knowing-ness" he created for the modern stage. Here, the young actress goes "falling-up the zen staircase," leading us toward a guileless kind of enlightenment. There also happens to be a gun in this homage, a Glock 9mm (Otto is a beleaguered police captain in Rio). And of course, in the lore of the Russian playwright, it must be fired later in the show. The same thing applies to Isadora's lonely speeches of heartbreak, which trigger the final scenes under Steve Carmichael's gentle light plot. All the while, there must be any number of Russian climaxes (in the manner of Uncle Vanya) going on out in the streets of Rio. This modern Brazilian family is hemmed in by random gunfire all around, thanks to a great sound design by Kristi Gunther. But the suggestion of dueling desire and impotence is heightened behind closed doors, under the strict gun control rules of their high-rise apartment. And here gun control is a good thing, as Otto is constantly roused to fury by loud neighbors. Set against that all that comic rowdiness, his wife is filled with unheard pleas for love and understanding. And all their frustrations reach heights that are truly Chekhovian. An Orchard for Chekhov, produced by Upstream Theater, runs through November 23, 2025, at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, St. Louis MO. For tickets and information, please visit www.upstreamtheater.org. Cast: Production Staff: * Denotes Member, Actors' Equity Association ** Denotes Associate Member, Stage Directors and Choreographers Society |
