Broadway Theater Review: The Present with Cate Blanchett

The Present
By Andrew Upton, based after Platonov by Anton Chekhov
Directed by John Crowley
Barrymore Theatre
Limited Broadway engagement through March 19

By Lauren Yarger

Right around the time I saw The Present on Broadway, I cam down with a killer flu and didn't get to write this review right away. By the time I sat down to catch up, I realized I was going to have dig out my notes on this adaptation of Anton Chekhov's Platanov, because I couldn't remember anything about it except that it starred movie star Cate Blanchett.

Usually not being able to remember the plot of a show I just saw is a bad thing when it comes to review writing, but in this case, I blame it on Chekhov, who isn't a favorite.

In fact, I rather enjoyed Andrew Upton's new take on the story, directed by John Crowley, which had me laughing out loud through a lot of it. Now that is something else unusual -- laughing during Chekhov, something I haven't done since Christopher Durang's Vanya, Sonya, Masha and Spike. This play isn't a sarcastic takeoff, it's just a rethinking of the original which includes some rather amusing moments.

Then there is Blanchett. She's a regal force on a stage, and I thought her performance as Russian landowner Anna was bold and mesmerizing, even if I don't recall what it was about. I kept thinking Queen Elizabeth (whom Blanchett portrayed on screen in two excellent movies) had arrived and frankly, that's pretty exciting for a Chekhov play. Broadway vet Richard Roxburgh gives a strong enough performance as Mikhail Platanov, a disillusioned school teacher. The story is depressing (life has three paths: the wolves eat you, you eat the wolves or you eat yourself) and contains a lot of dismissive dialogue about women. If you really want details, check out Spark Notes.....

But don't miss a chance to see Blanchett in action. She makes even Chekhov watchable.

The Present runs through March 19 at the Barrymore Theatre, 243 West 47th At., NYC.  Performances are Tuesday and Thursday at 7 pm; Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm; Saturday at 1:30 pm and Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets are $59-$159: thepresentbroadway.com.

Some bonus information:

Variously known as Platonov, Wild Honey, Fatherlessness and The Disinherited, Anton Chekhov’s first play was not discovered until 1920, some 16 years after the playwright’s death. Andrew Upton’s adaptation is set post-Perestroika in the mid-1990s at an old country house where friends gather to celebrate the birthday of the independent but compromised widow Anna Petrovna (Blanchett).

The show features the Sydney Theatre Company cast including Anna Bamford (Maria), Andrew Buchanan (Osip), David Downer (Yegor), Eamon Farren (Kirill), Martin Jacobs (Alexei), Brandon McClelland (Dimitri), Jacqueline McKenzie (Sophia), Marshall Napier (Ivan), Susan Prior (Sasha), Chris Ryan(Sergei) and Toby Schmitz (Nikolai).

Credits: Set and costume design by Alice Babidge,  lighting design by Nick Schlieper. Stefan Gregory is Sound Designer and Composer.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY FACTORS:
-- Lord's name taken in vain
-- Language
-- Sexual activity
-- Sexually-charged dialogue