SIST will present on March 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20 at Connie Gretz Secret Garden at Snug Harbor on Staten Island, Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov
Directed by Frank Williams
Assistant Director: Cara S. Liander
Every family has its problems: sibling rivalry, political differences, long-time resentments and hurts. However, very few could match the tangled, oppressive, and manipulative family problems of Uncle Vanya.
In Chekhov’s classic play, Professor Serebryakov lives in the city, while his rural estate is run by family. One of the estate managers is Uncle Vanya, his brother-in-law from his first marriage; the professor’s new wife Yelena is much younger and very attractive. When they visit their estate both Vanya and the local doctor fall hard for Yelena. Sonya, the professor’s daughter from his first marriage, is also helping to run the estate, and seeing her stepmother’s beauty and charm reminds her how unattractive she herself is and how unrequited her adoration for the doctor is, especially with Yelena on the scene.
Trouble develops when Serebryakov announces his plan to sell the estate (Vanya and Sonya’s home) in order to invest the profits and make a fortune for himself and Yelena. Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya explores the disruption and discontent of a small group of people in rural Russia (20th century in this production), and since its publication has helped pave the way for many of the world’s finest contemporary playwrights.
