It has been far too long since I have seen anything at Theatricum Botanicum - maybe before the pandemic? One factor has been that my wife and I have been more regularly going to the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Combined with the fact that we have seen a few more professional productions of musicals, our entertainment budget has been spent elsewhere.
I had been hoping to see two of the plays at Theatricum this summer, but only one fit into the schedule. Oh well.
The Seagull: Malibu is a retelling of Chekhov’s classic play, updated for the 21st Century. Ellen Geer may not be a familiar name to everyone, but she is actually a true fixture in the Los Angeles theater community. She is the daughter of Will Geer (Grandpa Walton) and actress Herta Ware.
Although Geer and Ware divorced (in significant part because Will Geer was gay), they remained close friends, and co-founded Theatricum Botanicum in 1973. These days, Ellen Geer is the artistic director, and occasionally acts, along with her daughter Willow Geer and half-sister Melora Marshall. (I have praised Marshall’s acting in previous posts - she is amazing.)
As far as I can tell, the main thing that Geer did with Chekhov’s play was change all the cultural references and the setting. Instead of a Russian resort lake in the 1800s, we are taken to 1970s Malibu, with all the crazy clothes that implies.
For those not from the area, Theatricum Botanicum is located in Topanga Canyon, one of several that connect the San Fernando Valley (where I grew up) to the Pacific coast, snaking through the Santa Monica Mountains. A few miles to the south, you come out suddenly on the coast - at Malibu. So this is a very local setting, and all of us LA denizens got the new jokes.
The cultural references were all updated, so “current” events (for the 1970s) are mentioned, modern English-language literature is name-checked rather than Russian. And the play-within-the-play that forms the center of the first act is updated to be about climate change, rather than the original early symbolist idea. The names of a couple of characters are changed, although they still nod to the originals.
With these exceptions, the play is completely faithful to the original, as far as I can tell, from the opening line, to the closing.
Unlike later plays like The Cherry Orchard, with its conflict between external forces and the inaction and denialism of the characters, The Seagull is all about internal conflicts.
The romantic yearnings of the characters drive most of the action; everyone feels misunderstood. Because the love is unrequited in most cases, a happy ending is impossible. This being Chekhov, we also get the iconic gun.
From the very opening line, it is clear this is Chekhov, and that things will end badly. Masha walks in, Ted asks her why she always wears black.
“I am in mourning. For my life.”
The characters are all together at a vacation home owned by Thad (Sorin in the original), an old and ill man. His sister, fading actress Arkadina, is hoping to reclaim her lost glory. Her son, Constantine, is a young playwright, hoping to break through to fame.
Arkadina is having an affair with younger (and popular) pulp novelist Trigger (Trigorin in the original). Meanwhile, Constantine is madly in love with Nina, the daughter of a nearby landowner. However, she abandoned Constantine to chase after Trigger. (This will end poorly for everyone later in the play…)
At the same time, Masha, the daughter of Ivan (Ilya in the original) and Paulina, managers of Thad’s estate, has it bad for Constantine, who ignores her. Schoolteacher Ted (Semyon in the original) is in love with Masha. Oh, and Paulina is also bonking the doctor, Dore, on the side.
Whew, that’s complicated, right?
Anyway, Constantine puts on his play, starring Nina, but the narcissistic Arkadina spoils everything with her criticism.
Later, Constantine kills a gull and presents it to Nina, who is revolted. Trigger decides to write a short story based on the seagull.
The plot for the short story: a young girl lives all her life on the shore of a lake. She loves the lake, like a gull, and she's happy and free, like a gull. But a man arrives by chance, and when he sees her, he destroys her, out of sheer boredom. Like this gull.
Much drama ensues, culminating in Constantine attempting suicide, Arkadina leaving with Trigger, and Nina running off to NYC to become an actor.
The final act takes place some years later. Masha has married Ted and has children, but hates him and her life. She is still mooning over Constantine. Nina has had a child with Trigger, but that child died, Trigger abandoned her to go back to Arkadina, and Thad is dying.
Near the end, Nina repeatedly says “I am a seagull” before correcting to “I am an actress.” And really, it isn’t her that is that luckless bird. It is Constantine, who has been destroyed by the heartlessness of Nina and his mother. Perhaps, though, most of the characters are seagulls, thoughtlessly destroyed by those around them.
This production was, as usual for Theatricum, excellent. Their outdoor stage is still a wonderful and unique venue, with the entire hillside a part of the set. As would be expected for Chekhov, the set was fairly minimalist and simple - just the furnishings of the house, with a few changes between acts.
It isn’t really possible to pick a standout performance, because everyone in the small cast was excellent in their roles. Every character is complicated; there are no cardboard roles.
It was a good date night for my wife and I. I will recommend our dinner choice, Laa Laa Pan, for delicious Indonesian food. One of the reasons I love living in California is the diversity.
This is the third Chekhov play I have seen live. I saw The Cherry Orchard at CSUB before I started writing about theater, and I saw Three Sisters at The Empty Space locally. I have also read Ivanov years ago. I think I just need to add Uncle Vanya to complete the set of mature plays.
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