Bailiwick Arts Center
Through February 22
Theatrical productions can be hell. The rehearsals, the late nights, the never ending blocking on stage, running of lines, costume fittings, and character explorations all to ensure a successful opening night and in turn, a long run. These seemingly endless nights of rehearsals grate slightly on the nerves, but they eventually reach an end and the spirit is consumed with the delight that comes with a completed product ready for the stage. But what if the practice never ended, repeating like a bad case of déjà déjà déjà vu? Then, the name of the never-ending play would be The Three Sisters by Chekhov and you would be one of three poor souls trapped inexplicably in a theatre with nothing to do but rehearse, rehearse, bicker, fornicate and rehearse some more.
Nick Salamone and Maury R. McIntyre’s Moscow is the musical story of Jon, Luke and Matt who have for some reason become entrapped not only in a theatre but also in the perpetual rehearsal of Anton Chekhov’s The Three Sisters.
Jon (Michael Hampton) is a playwright. He has found a copy of Chekhov’s play in the theatre and, coincidentally able to translate Russian, sets to translating the play (additions of musical interludes not to be forgotten) so that he and his two cohorts might have something worthwhile to do. Providing comic relief via catty one-liners and gay culture references, Jon is a flamboyant, domineering, sometimes motherly individual quick to make a prissy fuss when rehearsals don’t go the way he plans them. And with Luke’s miniscule attention span, rehearsals rarely go as planned.
Luke (Adam McNulty) is the common source of Jon’s fusses. He provides an equal amount of comic relief via his down-home/down-right-dumb Alabama country boy accent and naïveté and (eventually, too frequent) sexual gestures. He embodies the audience’s curiosity and confusion with his numerous inquiries of “Where are we?” “Why can’t we leave?” “Is this hell?”
A mismatched threesome would not be kosher without a mediator, and Matt (Brian Givens) is just such a character. A demure and quiet young man, he seeks to calm both Jon and Luke in the aftermath of their many outbursts. Whereas Jon distracts himself by feverishly writing his play and Luke has to partake in several games of softball (with a broomstick and a rolled up pair of tube socks) to ease his mind, Matt is complacent in the inescapable theatre with its allowances for self-exploration. The vocal talents of the cast are unquestionably impressive. Numerous numbers throughout the show are unconventionally tongue twisting and are effortlessly executed by Givens, Hampton and McNulty. With a handful of the numbers being quirky and humorous, a great many of them are dramatic, self-exploring ballads. Though the plot is at times murky, this might be alleviated if there is a previous understanding of Chekhov and The Three Sisters.
Chekhov’s plays are famous for what happens off stage (i.e. fires, madness, mayhem). Thus what has happened before the play, what might happen after, the characters’ fantasies and former lives that we never see or hear of are of just as great of importance as the current action on stage. The theme of his play, The Three Sisters, is escapism – to escape a current life of drudgery and make way for a more promising existence in the cosmopolitan Moscow. These dreams of escape of the three sisters within the play are thwarted at every attempt, keeping them forever in an existence of perpetual hope for something better. Eventually the parallels between the three sisters and Luke, Jon and Matt are made apparent.
Moscow runs at the Bailiwick Repertory Theatre at 1229 West Belmont in Chicago through 22 February, Thursday-Sunday (excluding Fridays in February). Tickets range from $22-$25.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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