I saw an interesting show last night. The Diversionary Theatre, which specializes in providing theatre to the LGBT communities, produced the musical play Moscow. The marketing tagline is, "Trapped in limbo, three gay men stage a musical production of Chekhov's The Three Sisters. A compelling fusion of music, emotion, melancholy and lust." Most of the play certainly flew over the heads of those not familiar with Chekhov, but luckily most of the audience caught all the literary (and popular theatre culture) jokes. While it was clever, the playwright couldn't help but beat Chekhovian references to death, including the characterization of the three male actors portraying Olga, Masha, and Irina. I found that it was an interesting discussion of the text itself, asked important questions, for example "Does Masha walk into this relationship knowing there's no hope for it?" Questions that should be asked in rehearsals by both director and actor. Interesting questions. It definitely made me want to pick up Three Sisters and answer those questions. Answer them for now anyway; I feel like the answers to those types of questions are always changing, which keeps it interesting. We are still performing Chekhov and Shakespeare because the answers to those questions are always changing. Reevaluating, work that I love and hopefully most artists do, never lets the actor and director get lazy.
(*spoiler alert*)
I actually wanted to write about my response to the piece. Somewhere in the midst of Act II, I finally got caught up in the emotional struggle of the characters. The playwright clearly intended for each of the three gay men to take on characteristics of the sister they're paired to portray in their play within the play. Kevin Koppman-Gue plays the role of Luke who, trapped in the dark theatre of limbo, reluctantly portrays Irina. But while he furiously battles with the question of their mortality, he becomes increasingly restless in this post-apocalyptic nothingness, far surpassing Irina's desire to return to Moscow. Tirelessly searching for the meaning of his existence, he breaches sexual boundaries with his two fellow inmates arriving at no satisfactory end. And then I suddenly thought, "Oh my god, he's going to kill himself." I can still see it so vividly. He decides that there's nothing left. Of course. Then, having come to this realization, I thought, "Oh my god, I've felt that before. That exact thing Kevin's feeling right now, I've felt that." Not what Luke was feeling, what Kevin was feeling. And I had never felt that until I played Martha in The Children's Hour for a scene study in an Acting class. For me, this exact moment flashed me back to when Martha decides she's going to kill herself in The Children's Hour. However, two very different things happen. In Moscow, Luke grabs a lose rope, climbs up a ladder, and strings up a noose to hang himself. In Children's Hour, Martha, also at a complete loss, leaves the room. There is no stage direction, no indication of her resolution, she simply leaves the room. Offstage, she hangs herself. For me, there is something more satisfying about the latter. Maybe it's because she actually goes through with it? Maybe because we know there's no alternative for her? Luke still hasn't figured out whether he is in fact even alive, so maybe there's hope there. Of course, we never find out; how Chekhovian.
I think I meant to expand on this moment in Children's Hour, but now that I'm this far into the post, it seems like another story for another day. Maybe a good topic for the next post, if I'm good about continuing to post blogs! Fingers crossed...
