Arts L'k Entertainment

A Chekhov Classic

The esteemed Maly Drama Theater of St. Petersburg
performs Uncle Vanya.

Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

and eternal longing begins as Professor
Serebryakov and his new young wife, Elena,
arrive at the family's country estate looked
Ann Arbor
after by Sonya, the professor's daughter
from his first marriage, and her Uncle
bile the uncle-niece relationship Vanya, the professor's brother-in-law.
maintains a strong stage pres-
Vanya, who has put his own life aside to
ence in the production of Uncle manage the estate, is filled with regret, made
Vanya coming to Ann Arbor, the uncle-
worse by his diminishing esteem for the pro-
niece relationship holds a strong backstage
fessor and his growing interest in Elena.
presence in the company presenting it.
"What makes this my uncle's produc-
Lev Dodin, artistic director
tion is that all nine characters
of the Maly Drama Theater of
are leading characters:' Dodina
St. Petersburg, works closely
says. "You can't say that Uncle
with his niece, Dina Dodina,
Vanya is the protagonist and the
international project manager
rest are just window dressing.
and dramaturge, as the Anton
"It's a performance about
Chekhov play goes on tour.
nine people at different stages
Uncle Vanya, sponsored
of their lives. They all get a
by the University Musical
moment to touch us and give us
Society, can be seen
a chance to realize that Chekhov
Wednesday-Sunday, March
still is a very modern writer. It's
24-28, at the Power Center.
a very human and romantic
Artistic Dire ctor
"What I personally like
performance."
about this production is that Lev Dodin
Dodin, who strongly iden-
I can relate to it',' says Dodina, 33, assisting
tifies with Jewish culture, was born in
her uncle for 14 years. "The characters are
Siberia and moved to St. Petersburg
alive, vulnerable, sexy and happy just like
after World War II. With the completion
everyday people. It's a production about real of studies at the St. Petersburg Theater
people as opposed to literary characters."
Institute, he worked as guest director
The prize-winning Maly Drama Theater, for a number of companies and came to
a repertory company created in 1944 and
wide recognition for his staging of Fyodor
led by Dodin since 1983, will perform the
Abramov's The House.
Chekhov play in Russian with projected
Dodin, the brother of Dodina's father, is
English translations.
accompanying the production to stages in
The drama about dashed dreams
Illinois, North Carolina and New York and

W

will share career stories during an open
program at 6:30 p.m. Friday, March 26, at
the University of Michigan Alumni Center.
"What my uncle usually likes to do
— and he usually bends moderators to
his will — is have questions from the
people present:' says Dodina, who studied
English linguistics and cultural manage-
ment before joining the company.
"This way, he says, he's sure he's answer-
ing something that interests at least one
person, the one who asked the question:'
Dodin heads up a group of 68 actors
— some of who have stayed with the the-
ater for as many as 25 years. Basically, he
has trained all of them.
"Chekhov's plays, and Uncle Vanya the
most beautiful among them, are simple but
eternal melodies with simple but eternal
themes',' says Dodin, who has toured the
production to Israel and brought Life and
Fate, a drama about anti-Semitism, to the
Lincoln Center Festival in New York City
"The play communicates something
that concerns the world culture because
it's essential that the regrets of the past
help build a future," Dodina says.
"We can analyze, and we can try to live the
rest of our lives the way we think we would
have wanted to live the part that's behind us
— to be a little bit better and a little bit more
charitable and have a little bit more love'
The Maly Theater treats the first per-
formance at every new venue as opening
night and maintains some stage rituals.
For instance, with each premiere, troupe

A scene from Uncle Vanya, which will

be performed in Russian with projected

English translations.

members kiss one another backstage and
repeat good wishes.
As Dodina travels with the Maly cast,
she thinks of Sonya's lines: "We will rest,
Uncle; we will rest. We will see the sky
encrusted with diamonds."
And what about rest for Dodin and
Dodina?
"My uncle and I like to work, similar
to the way Uncle Vanya and Sonya like to
work:' she says. "We haven't yet seen the
sky encrusted with diamonds, but then
Chekhov means seeing that in the next
world, in the better world. We'll put that a
little bit off."

❑

Uncle Vanya will be staged 8 p.m.
Wednesday-Saturday and 2 p.m.
Sunday, March 24-28, at the Power
Center,121 Fletcher, in Ann Arbor. $10-
$64. For information about the pro-
duction and special events, call (734)
764-2538 or go to www.ums.org .

Jews

oft-

77
Ow_

Nate Bloom
Special to the Jewish News

Flick Pick

Repo Men, opening Friday, March 19,
is a futuristic action thriller. A com-
pany called the Union invents and
sells expensive artificial organs that
can extend human life. However, if a
customer doesn't make his payments,
nasty repo men grab back the organ.
Jude Law stars
as Remy, a repo
man who gets one
of his company's
hearts and cannot
make his payments.
Forest Whitaker
plays Remy's former
Liev Schreiber
partner, who is sent
to repossess Remy's
artificial heart. Liev Schreiber, 42,

44

March 18 - 2010

has a supporting role as Remy's boss.

TV Notes

Model Brooke Burke,
38, has been named
as co-host (with Tom
Bergeron) of the hit
ABC series Dancing
with the Stars. She
replaces Samantha
Brooke Burke
Harris, 36, who has
co-hosted since 2006. Harris says
she is leaving to concentrate on her
work as a correspondent for TV's The
Insider and Entertainment Tonight.
Brooke (whose mother is Jewish) was
the winner of the seventh season
of Dancing. The show's 10th season
starts 8 p.m. Monday, March 22.
Lainie Kazan, 67, and Richard
Lewis, 62, guest- star on the Fox
series 'Ti! Death 7 p.m. Sunday, March

Lainie Kazan

21. Kazan plays the
mother of starring
character Joy Stark
(Joely Fisher), while
Lewis plays a publish-
er who is interested
in a book written by
Joy's husband, Eddie
(Brad Garrett, 49).

Sadly Noted

The last few weeks
have seen the tragic
deaths of two Jewish
actors best known
for their adoles-
cent roles: Andrew
Koenig, 42, who was
Andrew
found dead on Feb.
Koenig
25, an apparent sui-
cide, and Corey Haim, 38, who died
on March 10 of an apparent acciden-

tal drug overdose.
Koenig, who starred as Richard
"Boner" Stabone on the '80s sitcom
Growing Pains, was the son of actor
Walter Koenig (Chekov on Star Trek),
73, and Walter's wife of 44 years,
actress Judy Levitt Koenig. Andrew
had a substantial post-adolescent
career as a writer and film editor.
Haim was born and
raised in Toronto, the
son of a Canadian-
Jewish father and an
Israel-raised Jewish
mother. He was a
talented young actor
with film hits like
Lucas and The Lost
Corey Haim
Boys. But he got
into drugs at a young age and never
was able to get clean for a sustained
period. _