Steadstyle Chicago
	May 2009 Theatre Review by Venus Zarris
	Uncle Vanya Before the first lines are uttered, we are drawn in by the simplistic structural strength of Martin Andrew's breathtaking Scenic Design and the striking highlights and shadows of Keith Parham's richly warm Lighting Design.  The visual that they create together promises something extraordinary and TUTA Theatre Chicago's "Uncle Vanya" makes good on this promise. Vanya and his niece Sonya toil away on a farm, sending all of the profits to Sonya's father.  When the aging and whiney professor shows up at the farm with his beautiful young wife Elena, Vanya falls in hopelessly in love.  Elena is attracted to Astrov, a country doctor.  Sonya is in love with Astrov.  Astrov is in love with Elena and the professor is in love with himself.  The conflicting emotions and infatuations are far from superficial in this existentially engaging examination of misplaced trust and affection.  Director Zeljko Djukic, his beguiling ensemble and gifted design team craft a rendition of Chekhov's beloved classic that is as lingeringly lovely as the melancholy masterpiece itself.  On the surface it is picture perfect but that implies only two dimensions.  TUTA's "Uncle Vanya" is a dramatic three-dimensionally nuanced sculpture with the emotional textures of humor, sorrow, pettiness, introspection, insight, rage and ennui. Djukic directs a quiet subtlety in the production that gives the texts enough strength to be placed it on a pedestal and enough connection to be set it in our laps.  Cinematic in its visual depth and emotional close-ups, he takes small strokes and paints on the broad canvas of Chekhov's story.  His staging creates a wonderfully deliberate visual design.  The actors move on-stage with direct and organic purpose and off-stage like ghostly vapors, subtly surrounding the melancholy.  The despair is infused with so much tenderness and humanity that your heart aches while your mind spins on the revelatory pontifications of this exceptional translation. The brilliant cast inhabits the story with natural ease and underlying passion.  Every performance is noteworthy in its own right but Stacey Beth Green, Trey Maclin, Gary Houston and Andy Hagar transcend this already transcending production.  Green's Elena keeps everything so tightly, yet calmly, bound in that the slightest change of expression caries incredible weight.  Maclin's Vanya is charming and tragic.  Houston's Serebriakov musters humor and sympathy from one of the most spoiled, narcissistic and unsympathetic characters ever written.  And Hager delivers an Astrov with so much casual depth and staggering reality that there is no trace of evidence that a script ever existed, once again proving himself to be one of the most gifted actor in this city of talent.  His intuitively charming performance should not be missed. Natasha Vuchurovich Djukic's gorgeous Costume Design and Mikhail Fiksel and Miles Polaski's splendid Sound Design perfectly round off this incredible theatrical accomplishment.   TUTA Theatre Chicago takes Yasen Peyankov and Peter Christensen's compelling adaptation and creates nothing short of the quintessential "Uncle Vanya," sure to delight the Chekhov devotee and novice alike.  Everything is conveyed in vivid detail, from the delightful characters, to the wrenching turmoil, to the genuine comedy and finally to the concluding thesis on faith that depicts the propaganda of submission and acquiescence for the sake of spiritual survival.  They take the location and period of the script and make something universal and timeless. If you love Chekhov you will be thankful for being delivered so intimately close to this story.  If you are unfamiliar with Chekhov, you will come away an adoring fan.  This is quite simply one of the best productions of the year.  "Uncle Vanya" runs through June 28, 2009 at the Chopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division. For more information and tickets call 847-217-0691 or visit www.tutato.com or www.chopintheatre.com.   About Venus Zarris Venus Zarris is the Editor and Chief Writer for ChicagoStageReview.com. She is a feature writer and theater critic for Gay Chicago Magazine, as well as other print and on-line publications. Her writing has been featured at colleges and universities in Illinois and Michigan and on National Public Radio. Venus's photography and writing is on permanent collection at the New York Historical Society and the Library of Congress.  Steadstyle Chicago is proud to welcome Venus' intelligent, witty and provocative writing to our site.