Uncle Vanya (2000) Production Files

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Identifier: UNCLE2000
Inclusive Dates: 2000
Extent:
Roundabout Theatre Company staged Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, with first preview on April 5, 2000, opening night on April 30, 2000 and closing night on June 11, 2000. Due to delays in completing renovations on the American Airlines Theatre, Roundabout rented the Atkinson Theatre for this limited run. 

Writing for The New Leader (July/August 2000) Stefan Kanfer wrote, "As Vanya, Jacobi is by turns self-mocking, enraged and ridiculous without missing a beat. If Murray seems a bit too plummy as Serebryakov, he never fails to amuse. Rees provides a measure of dignity and wit to Astrov, a role that often gets misinterpreted. Of the women, Linney, as usual, comes off best; her cool manner and thrumming voice prove ideal for the play...Mike Poulton's tangy translation is admirable, so are Tony Walton's evocative set and costumes, and Kennth Posner's magical lighting design. Michael Mayer has been reproached for his less than reverent direction of a classic. He deserves better. The playwright preferred impudence to awe, and the production at the Brooks Atkinson Theater, with all its quirkiness and flaws, provides a truly Chekhovian evening."

Directed by Michael Mayer, with set and costume design by Tony Walton, lighting design by Kenneth Posner, original music and sound design by David Van Tieghem, hair and wig design by Paul Huntley and fight direction by J. Steven White.

Roger Rees played the part of Astrov, Anne Pitoniak played the part of Marina, Derek Jacobi played the part of Vanya, David Patrick Kelly played the part of Telegin, Brian Murray played the part of Serebryakov, Amy Ryan played the part of Sonya, Laura Linney played the part of Yelena, Rita Gam played the part of Maria Vasilyevna, Torben Brooks played the part of Laborer, James Coyle played the part of Yefim, and Jonah Bay and Greg Keller played the part of Servants. Understudies: Torben Brooks, James Coyle, Jane Cronin, Julia Gibson, Jonah Bay, Greg Keller.

Amy Ryan was nominated for a Tony award as Best Featured Actress in a Play and Tony Walton was nominated for a Tony award for Best Scenic Design.
Written by playwright Anton Chekhov in 1899, Uncle Vanya portrays family life on a Russian country estate, focusing on the character's inner lives and psychological journeys rather than themes more common to nineteenth century Russian melodrama (plot twists, villians, etc.). The play premiered in Moscow in 1899 at the Moscow Art Theatre, with direction by Konstantin Stanislavski.  

"The people in Uncle Vanya come from a generation struggling to hold on to a disintegrating inheritance. The country estate in the play is similar to many others in Russia, originally built during a period when country estates could achieve palatial proportions. As few estates were able to produce a significant income, much of this extravagance was paid for by mortgaging the property or the indentured servants, known as serfs. As a consequence, huge debts almost became a status symbol to the Russian landowner. By the early to mid-19th century, the habit of living on credit became so wide spread that 60 to 70 percent of privately owned serfs were mortgaged to state credit institutions. From the moment of the emancipation of serfs in 1861, the process of the landed gentry losing their land seemed inevitable. It is perhaps revealing that Chekhov wrote Uncle Vanya while living on and managing a country estate of his own". [Page To Stage Production Guide, Scenes From a Country Life] 
Collection consists of two Hollinger boxes containing 16 management and production folders, a Playbill and company and crew photo.

Digital holdings include the following folders:
Education (PDF study guide)
Media (audio recording of lecture series and broll) 
Playbill (jpeg scans)
Press (TIF scans with PDF)
Production Photographs (select color and black and white images)
Scan of set model image (jpeg)
Show Art (PDF of window card art work)

 
Access Restrictions: Open and available for research except where noted.
Preferred Citation: Uncle Vanya (2000), Roundabout Theatre Company Archives
Related Staged Production

Uncle Vanya (2000)


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