In Patrick Marber’s passionate and comedic update of Turgenev’s classic A Month in the Country, a handsome new tutor brings reckless, romantic desire to an eccentric household. Over three days one summer the young and the old will learn lessons in love: first love and forbidden love, maternal love and platonic love, ridiculous love and last love; the love left unsaid and the love which must win out. July 5 – Aug. 26; $15-$34; Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, 110 East Broadway, Glendale, CA 91205; (818) 506-1983 or www.antaeus.org.
Three Days in the Country
Critics
LemonMeter
Reviews: 18
Reviews
Marber, an award-winning playwright (“After Miss Julie,” “The Red Lion”) and screenwriter (“Notes on a Scandal”) condensed Turgenev's action so that it unfolds over three days instead of a month, cutting back the marathon running time to two hours. In the process, he tightened up the banter and sight gags to satisfy a sitcom-soaked audience without resorting to glaring anachronisms.
The production of Three Days, beautifully directed by a seasoned newcomer to Los Angeles by the name of Andrew Paul, is fine enough to have encouraged me to do something I had not done before: see the second cast.
With its oddball charms, although not without a slight lack of chemistry or awkwardness within the Blunderers casting, the play exudes plenty of sass and spirit. There are as many truths embedded in the story as there are delights and of course, as many blunders. Instance upon instance in this merry-go-round, is someone in love with someone else who is in love with someone else or even the same person. Three Days in the Country is entertaining, witty and occasionally sexy.
We are all but molds of life around us, playing a game and putting on a facade that we can't get rid of; every character in “Three Days” wants something, and nearly every character fails to get it. That's life, I guess — and “Three Days in the Country” delivers that message, strong and clear.
Responsible for gathering and shepherding this cast is director Andrew Paul. So he's to be thanked for the light but purposeful tone, as well as for the beautiful, inspired ambivalence coursing across the stage.
It goes without saying that tales of thwarted love like these require cultivation of nuance, both in fashioning the individual characters and in crafting the relationships between them. But director Andrew Paul seems to have given too short shrift to these particulars and the collective result is a disappointingly uneven rendering......
The larger point, and one that Turgenev surely was making, is that the economy at this underdeveloped level of productivity, multiplied by the thousands of other such estates spread over the Russian lands, was stagnant and only at best self-sustaining. Compared to the more industrialized Western Europe, Russia was truly a backward nation, the talents and potential of its people wasted on imperial excess that almost seemed to demand ignorance and backwardness amongst the broad peasant masses. For if they knew otherwise, they would surely not put up with it. Which, as we know, is exactly what happened a couple of generations later. Kolya's playful aiming of an arrow at his father can be seen as a symbolic killing off of a parasite class and generation. Anna Khaja and Corey Brill / Geoffrey Wade The urbane houseguest Rakitin (Corey Brill), whom Arkady's bored wife Natalya has invited for a visit, only to spurn his advances and declarations, is questioned as to his politics, and he is somewhat knowledgeable about current ideas. He is aware, for example, of socialist treatises, but believes that “freedom” for the serfs would be meaningless. Out of his own privileged status and his futile infatuation with Natalya, his mind is simply too muddled to concern himself with any greater cause beyond himself. He is insightful enough to conclude that amongst the characters in this play—and perhaps this is his wider understanding of the world—“Everyone is a joke they don't get.”
I'm a sucker for the muscular way Leo Marks mines every turn of phrase and intonation - and like Nike Doukas' manic performance you might find it a bit much but you can't help but admire the gusto. Armin Shimerman is a hoot as the annoying country doctor who ends up proposing at precisely the moment his back seizes up … but it's actually a moment with no text and a few berries that's worth the trip to Glendale.
Director Andrew Paul has a deft touch and all the comic moments Marber has written are delightfully enacted by the company. The cast imbues these Russians with real passion as they struggle with all the various permutations of love. It's a rollicking good time led by the superb Doukas who commands the stage every moment.
After two viewings of 3 Days in the Country, it's fascinating to witness how Antaeus' practice of double casting adds various layers to its meaning. Under Andrew Paul's direction, the two casts bring marked different interpretations to the fore. On opening weekend, “The Assassins” household seems weighted down by depression generated by Natalya (Anna Khaja). Daniel Blinkoff as Arkady, her husband, has learned to tip-toe around her, staying out of the way even when Rakitin (Corey Brill) arrives to offer some harmless flirtation. On the other hand, “The Blunderers” seems much more on edge. Nike Doukas as Natalya is the powder keg; Antonio Jaramillo, as her husband, is just as explosive, and, as Rakitin, Leo Marks's more ascerbic wit serves the rest of cast's temperament to perfection. The young tutor Belyaev (Peter Mendoza), appearing with both casts, serves as the catalyst for the plot.
The entire production team deserves congratulations for costumes (A. Jeffrey Schoenberg), lighting (Jared A. Sayeg), and sound (Chris Moscatiello) – with special thanks to scenic designer Se Hyun Oh, who added a built-up stage to contain the action. The Antaeus Theatre Company has again skillfully succeeded in bringing the classics to the contemporary stage.
An enjoyable comedy about unadvisable love, Three Days in the Country is a well-crafted production. Doukas and Marks, who brought the production to Antaeus from its US premiere at the Kinetic Theatre Company in Pittsburgh, are exquisite.
The west coast premiere of Patrick Marber's THREE DAYS IN THE COUNTRY receives a sturdy mounting by the always dependable Antaeus Theatre Company. Marber's adaptation of Ivan Turgenev's classic A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY has been smartly condensed and updated from its original five-act length to a much more manageable (and most witty and enjoyable) two-and-a-half-hour running time. Andrew Paul sure-handedly directs his talented cast of thirteen ...
With two fabulous casts bringing Turgenev's Marber-tweaked characters to indelible life, L.A. theater lovers are advised to leave at least two spots on the calendar for the irresistible Three Days In The Country.
What stands out most about this play isn't any one of the brilliant and funny actors, but rather the sharp-witted dialogue and overall chemistry that brings everything together in a tightly-packed two-plus hours. “Three Days in the Country” is the type of play that reminds you why coming out to the theater gives you an experience you can't get anywhere else.
Andrew Paul's direction is crisp, allowing the skills of the actors to carry the story along. Three Days is an excellent take on a stylized glimpse into the lives of mid 19th Century Russians in love.
Director Andrew Paul does a wonderful job staging the action with purpose and clarity. In his program note he acknowledges his lack of enthusiasm for Turgenev, but he finds Marber's adaptation thrilling and relevant. Paul's excitement and estimable skill is evident throughout. I do suspect, however, that he could do one hell of a job with Brian Friel's more faithful adaptation, or the Emlyn Williams version. He gets these people.
What you see on the surface of Three Days in the Country is essentially what you get. It is a soapy period piece in which, at various times, the characters literally play the card game Hearts, which is too obvious to even be called a metaphor.
Marber, an award-winning playwright (“After Miss Julie,” “The Red Lion”) and screenwriter (“Notes on a Scandal”) condensed Turgenev's action so that it unfolds over three days instead of a month, cutting back the marathon running time to two hours. In the process, he tightened up the banter and sight gags to satisfy a sitcom-soaked audience without resorting to glaring anachronisms.
The production of Three Days, beautifully directed by a seasoned newcomer to Los Angeles by the name of Andrew Paul, is fine enough to have encouraged me to do something I had not done before: see the second cast.
With its oddball charms, although not without a slight lack of chemistry or awkwardness within the Blunderers casting, the play exudes plenty of sass and spirit. There are as many truths embedded in the story as there are delights and of course, as many blunders. Instance upon instance in this merry-go-round, is someone in love with someone else who is in love with someone else or even the same person. Three Days in the Country is entertaining, witty and occasionally sexy.
We are all but molds of life around us, playing a game and putting on a facade that we can't get rid of; every character in “Three Days” wants something, and nearly every character fails to get it. That's life, I guess — and “Three Days in the Country” delivers that message, strong and clear.
Responsible for gathering and shepherding this cast is director Andrew Paul. So he's to be thanked for the light but purposeful tone, as well as for the beautiful, inspired ambivalence coursing across the stage.
It goes without saying that tales of thwarted love like these require cultivation of nuance, both in fashioning the individual characters and in crafting the relationships between them. But director Andrew Paul seems to have given too short shrift to these particulars and the collective result is a disappointingly uneven rendering......
The larger point, and one that Turgenev surely was making, is that the economy at this underdeveloped level of productivity, multiplied by the thousands of other such estates spread over the Russian lands, was stagnant and only at best self-sustaining. Compared to the more industrialized Western Europe, Russia was truly a backward nation, the talents and potential of its people wasted on imperial excess that almost seemed to demand ignorance and backwardness amongst the broad peasant masses. For if they knew otherwise, they would surely not put up with it. Which, as we know, is exactly what happened a couple of generations later. Kolya's playful aiming of an arrow at his father can be seen as a symbolic killing off of a parasite class and generation. Anna Khaja and Corey Brill / Geoffrey Wade The urbane houseguest Rakitin (Corey Brill), whom Arkady's bored wife Natalya has invited for a visit, only to spurn his advances and declarations, is questioned as to his politics, and he is somewhat knowledgeable about current ideas. He is aware, for example, of socialist treatises, but believes that “freedom” for the serfs would be meaningless. Out of his own privileged status and his futile infatuation with Natalya, his mind is simply too muddled to concern himself with any greater cause beyond himself. He is insightful enough to conclude that amongst the characters in this play—and perhaps this is his wider understanding of the world—“Everyone is a joke they don't get.”
I'm a sucker for the muscular way Leo Marks mines every turn of phrase and intonation - and like Nike Doukas' manic performance you might find it a bit much but you can't help but admire the gusto. Armin Shimerman is a hoot as the annoying country doctor who ends up proposing at precisely the moment his back seizes up … but it's actually a moment with no text and a few berries that's worth the trip to Glendale.
Director Andrew Paul has a deft touch and all the comic moments Marber has written are delightfully enacted by the company. The cast imbues these Russians with real passion as they struggle with all the various permutations of love. It's a rollicking good time led by the superb Doukas who commands the stage every moment.
After two viewings of 3 Days in the Country, it's fascinating to witness how Antaeus' practice of double casting adds various layers to its meaning. Under Andrew Paul's direction, the two casts bring marked different interpretations to the fore. On opening weekend, “The Assassins” household seems weighted down by depression generated by Natalya (Anna Khaja). Daniel Blinkoff as Arkady, her husband, has learned to tip-toe around her, staying out of the way even when Rakitin (Corey Brill) arrives to offer some harmless flirtation. On the other hand, “The Blunderers” seems much more on edge. Nike Doukas as Natalya is the powder keg; Antonio Jaramillo, as her husband, is just as explosive, and, as Rakitin, Leo Marks's more ascerbic wit serves the rest of cast's temperament to perfection. The young tutor Belyaev (Peter Mendoza), appearing with both casts, serves as the catalyst for the plot.
The entire production team deserves congratulations for costumes (A. Jeffrey Schoenberg), lighting (Jared A. Sayeg), and sound (Chris Moscatiello) – with special thanks to scenic designer Se Hyun Oh, who added a built-up stage to contain the action. The Antaeus Theatre Company has again skillfully succeeded in bringing the classics to the contemporary stage.
An enjoyable comedy about unadvisable love, Three Days in the Country is a well-crafted production. Doukas and Marks, who brought the production to Antaeus from its US premiere at the Kinetic Theatre Company in Pittsburgh, are exquisite.
The west coast premiere of Patrick Marber's THREE DAYS IN THE COUNTRY receives a sturdy mounting by the always dependable Antaeus Theatre Company. Marber's adaptation of Ivan Turgenev's classic A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY has been smartly condensed and updated from its original five-act length to a much more manageable (and most witty and enjoyable) two-and-a-half-hour running time. Andrew Paul sure-handedly directs his talented cast of thirteen ...
With two fabulous casts bringing Turgenev's Marber-tweaked characters to indelible life, L.A. theater lovers are advised to leave at least two spots on the calendar for the irresistible Three Days In The Country.
What stands out most about this play isn't any one of the brilliant and funny actors, but rather the sharp-witted dialogue and overall chemistry that brings everything together in a tightly-packed two-plus hours. “Three Days in the Country” is the type of play that reminds you why coming out to the theater gives you an experience you can't get anywhere else.
Andrew Paul's direction is crisp, allowing the skills of the actors to carry the story along. Three Days is an excellent take on a stylized glimpse into the lives of mid 19th Century Russians in love.
Director Andrew Paul does a wonderful job staging the action with purpose and clarity. In his program note he acknowledges his lack of enthusiasm for Turgenev, but he finds Marber's adaptation thrilling and relevant. Paul's excitement and estimable skill is evident throughout. I do suspect, however, that he could do one hell of a job with Brian Friel's more faithful adaptation, or the Emlyn Williams version. He gets these people.
What you see on the surface of Three Days in the Country is essentially what you get. It is a soapy period piece in which, at various times, the characters literally play the card game Hearts, which is too obvious to even be called a metaphor.