Elegant Celebrities Blog

I’ll admit that when I was first invited by the lovely actress Jennifer Chang to the opening night of her new play, “Three Sisters,” I initially assumed that it would be an Asian-American adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s classic play about a family’s search for meaning in life.

However, this latest version by Susan Coyne stuck pretty close to the original; with the main difference being that Asian-American actors played the Prozorov family, and the rest of the cast included a diverse mix of actors, many of whom were graduates of the distinguished MFA program at the University of San Diego. Latino television actor Ricardo Antonio Chavira was convincing as the philosophizing Lieutenant Colonel Vershinin. And the oldest and most well-seasoned cast members gave memorable performances that enriched my theater experience. Both Tony Amendola as Dr. Chebutykin and Tom Carey as the near-deaf messenger Ferapont, inspired hoots of laughter as well as intense, thought-provoking moments.

Instead of a traditional theatrical setup inside the newly renovated Masonic lodge (built in 1901, the same year that “Three Sisters” debuted in Russia), director Larissa Kokernot took full advantage of all of the space in the small room. Chairs were set up lengthwise instead of in the usual manner facing the stage, so the cast could move freely between the audience from one end of the room to the other. As a result, the audience had a panoramic view of scenes played out only a few feet in front of them. I was impressed that the cast remained undistracted by us despite our close proximity to them, and in turn we were well-behaved and privileged to be the first ones to enjoy the venue, which was only renovated four months prior.

Despite being three hours long, there were few dull moments in the play. The pace of the action was appropriate, and any time that I might have dozed off, I was quickly awakened by loud outbursts and high dramatic moments. All three leading actresses who played the sisters had their distinguished performance moments. Jennifer Chang’s Masha was absolutely riveting in Act IV, during her parting scene with Vershinin. Her violent sobbing and near hysterical wails were impossible to ignore. Aileen Cho’s performance as the pretty but miserable Irina in Act III was also emotionally wrenching. Joy Osmanski as Olga impressed me with a quiet scene in Act III during which she expressed her exhaustion mostly through her actions instead of words. Their cuckolded brother Andrei, portrayed by the excellent Feodor Chin, was one of the saddest characters, having resigned himself to a life of mediocrity, debt, and lies in a small town. Andrei’s wife, the frantic, calculating Natasha (Teri Reeves) was at her best when she confronted Olga about keeping nanny Anfisa (Eva Wielgat Barnes).

But for me the saddest scene took place in Act IV, when Baron Tuzenbach (Adam J. Smith) said farewell to his fiancée Irina before his duel with Solyony. One could sense his lack of will to live after he confessed–then she admitted–her lack of love for him. It was then that I understood why he might wish for death, and later leave Irina bereft but free to pursue her life without him. Smith was a little over dramatic during his lines about the trees, but when he spoke his last words to Irina, you could hear a pin drop.

“Three Sisters” will be playing at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery until February 22nd, with a “Pay What You Can Night” on February 8. Tickets are $30 and are available at www.TicketWeb.com, with discounts available to students and military. For more information about the play and Chalk Repertory Theater, go to http://www.chalkrep.com/.