Maxim Gorky was the preeminent advocate of critical realism in
Russian literature, a political revolutionary, and ultimately
one of Russia's most celebrated authors. He devoted his attention
to the lives of the underclasses (a radical idea for its time)
as they faced the transition to a new, more complex "modern"
world that was moving irrevocably toward revolution. In his play
The Zykovs, he exposes the rift between generations - and
between the sexes - on the cusp of one of the 20th century's most
resonant social upheavals, the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Written in 1913, The Zykovs concerns Antipa Zykov, a self-made
timber merchant. Antipa, along with his son Misha, lives with
his sister Sophia, who married into the land-owning nobility but
was left widowed and childless within six years. Misha is engaged
to the beautiful but somewhat naive Pavla. Wanting Pavla for himself,
Antipa breaks his son's engagement and marries her, with predictably
devastating results for all concerned. At times, all of the hand-wringing
resembles nothing more than a middle-class Uncle Vanya,
Gorky's usually political voice unusually muted by the soap-opera
machinations.
But if Gorky's script lacks the trenchant incisiveness of his
better-known masterpiece, The Lower Depths, theater et
al's production, under Brian Rogers's direction, was nevertheless
exemplary. The award-winning company adapted Alexander Bakshy's
translation to suit their own strikingly visual ensemble approach
to theatre, and if at times Rogers's highly stylized production
pushed right to the brink of inventive pretension, he smartly
never crossed that line that would have sent it into the realm
of overwrought theatricality. Performed in what has to be the
smallest theatre space in Manhattan (only 16 seats), nothing was
overplayed, and nearly everything was monochromatic. Yet by reveling
in each subtle revelation, the intimacy of the white-on-white
production (beautifully designed by Rogers with Dina Gjertsen)
was more intense, and ultimately more harrowing, than any
evening of histrionic pyrotechnics could have been.
Particularly outstanding was the coolly passionate Sheila Lewandowsky
as Sophia, the play's moral center. She did much by doing very
little, just a flick of her eyes exposing the dark forces gnawing
at Sophia's frustrated soul. Equally impressive were Chip Washington,
playing both of Sophia's would-be lovers, and Dacyl Acevedo,
graceful in the stock role of Pavla's ineffectual mother. The
rest of the ensemble, which was admittedly uneven, at least played
their individual strengths to maximum effect, helping to give
the evening a hypnotically unified precision.
Since its formation in 1996, theater et al has been devoted to
the creation of bold examinations of lesser-known classical texts
with a modern perspective and without the benefit - or burden
- of great material advantage. Visually stunning and beautifully
performed, their production of The Zykovs was 90 minutes
of pure theatre that, even though it didn't reveal an under-appreciated
masterwork, absolutely made a compelling case for this ambitious
company's raison d'être.
(Also featuring Richard Aviles, Deborah Blossom,
David Green, and Felice Yeh.)
Writing: 1
Directing: 2
Acting: 2
Set: 1
Costumes: 2
Lighting/Sound: 2
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Copyright 2000 Doug DeVita