The Sea Gull

The major decision reached by director Menendian and his cast seems to be: Whenever possible, play for laughs. Don’t get us wrong—despite the hopelessness, suicide attempts and unrequited love, The Sea Gull is meant to be a comedy, and too many dour revivals forget that. But it’s a gentle comedy of human behavior, whereas Menendian seems to have taken Chekhov’s hapless romances as a cue to play the thing as broad farce, like a Russian Midsummer Night’s Dream. For three and a half of Chekhov’s four acts, the cast mugs and flails and oversells every zinger, making the dead-serious final encounter between Treplyev and Nina feel like it came from another play. 

Even such inconsistencies of tone can’t completely obscure the beauty of Chekhov’s portrait of generational conflict and the disparities between love and happiness, art and life, and some elements of the production excel. Cora Vander Broek’s charming, mysterious Nina is one highlight—we’re not sure if she truly falls in love with Trigorin or if she knows exactly what she’s doing in her thirst for fame. More problematic is Joann Montemurro, a fine earthy actor who was not made for the role of the glamorous stage star Arkadina. Where Arkadina must be selfish and vain on a grand, charming level, Montemurro achieves only a small, coarse one. “I’m not Great Jove,” she replies to an admiring remark. “I’m a woman.” This ought to be false humility on Arkadina’s part, but here, it’s simply true.—Kris Vire