{"id":10208,"date":"2014-02-12T15:48:11","date_gmt":"2014-02-12T23:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=10208"},"modified":"2014-02-12T15:50:00","modified_gmt":"2014-02-12T23:50:00","slug":"tackling-chekhov-dancer-baryshnikov-proves-he-can-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/tackling-chekhov-dancer-baryshnikov-proves-he-can-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Tackling Chekhov, dancer Baryshnikov proves he can act"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Woody’s [rating:5]<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Mikhail Baryshnikov (center), Tymberly Canale (left) and Aaron Mattocks perform in \u201cMan in a Case.\u201d Photo by T. Charles Erickson<\/p><\/div>\n

“Man in a Case,\u201d the new Mikhail Baryshnikov star turn, melds uncountable elements.<\/p>\n

Radiantly.<\/p>\n

But the dramatic Berkeley Rep re-invention of two Anton Chekhov short stories is so complex, so augmented with symbolism and stagecraft, I\u2019m sure a single viewing is insufficient to absorb it all.<\/p>\n

And, frankly, I suspect I might feel the same after two or three more times in the audience.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan in a Case,\u201d which was adapted and co-directed by the dazzling duo behind the Big Dance Theatre, Paul Lazar and Annie-B Parson, fuses movement, theatrics, music and video.<\/p>\n

Parson may deserve the most credit.<\/p>\n

She alone was responsible for the piece\u2019s choreography, which not only fit Baryshnikov\u2019s dance and acting chops like skintight leggings but lent itself to integrating disparate elements \u2014 projections of titles and 1890s Russian characters re-dressed in modern garb, a quintet of TV terminals blinking in unison, infinite paper caricatures wafting from above, a strobe ball rotating ever so gently, accordion melodies blaring in contrast with scratchy old recordings, and a canopied Murphy bed sliding effortlessly into a wall.<\/p>\n

Amazingly, like a perfectly practiced drill team, everything works in synch.<\/p>\n

And Parson put it all together with a surrealistic cleverness that made me think she might have been channeling Salvador Dali after he\u2019d stumbled upon Marcel Marceau and Spike Jones in the afterlife and convinced them to come back to Earth and pool their talents.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan in a Case\u201d spotlights two modern-day hunters who swap poignant stories after initially wielding their microphones like comic weaponry, as if they were doing early morning drive-time radio.<\/p>\n

The first \u2014 and longer \u2014 tale centers on Belikov, an uptight, reclusive Greek teacher who\u2019s feared by his fellow pedagogues \u2014 and, indeed, \u201cthe whole town.\u201d He falls for a cheery woman but, calamitously, can\u2019t sustain the relationship.<\/p>\n

The second story depicts a guy who grieves for his unrequited love, a married woman.<\/p>\n

According to Parson, both Baryshnikov protagonists \u201chave preconceived ideas how to live, even if it means living life in a case\u2026of their own construction.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also said, in an interview with the Hartford Stage\u2019s senior dramaturg, that even though the title piece is \u201cprose, not a play, it\u2019s eminently actable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Baryshnikov, who\u2019d grown up reading Chekhov stories and plays, validates that notion.<\/p>\n

And so do the other six actors in the ensemble cast, especially Tymberly Canale, his dance-and-love companion in both segments.<\/p>\n

One stagey conceit of \u201cMan in a Case\u201d is showing onstage what normally goes on behind the scenes. It took me a few minutes to adjust to the \u201ctransparency,\u201d but once I had, I found it refreshing.<\/p>\n

Exactly what were the two co-directors trying to achieve?<\/p>\n

Lazar has said, \u201cIt\u2019s Chekhov\u2019s unvarnished contemporary quality and his not feeling at an historical distance that we\u2019re going after.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mission accomplished.<\/p>\n

Baryshnikov, a Latvia native, started studying ballet at age 9. He became the principal dancer of the Kirov Ballet in 1969, and five years later defected from the former Soviet Union to dance with major companies around the world.<\/p>\n

His film work has included \u201cThe Turning Point\u201d and \u201cWhite Nights,\u201d and he appeared in \u201cMetamorphosis\u201d on Broadway.<\/p>\n

His most famous role, however, may have been in the television series \u201cSex in the City,\u201d in which he\u2019s dumped by Carrie Bradshaw for Mr. Big.<\/p>\n

In 2012, Baryshnikov starred in the Berkeley Rep \u00a0production of \u201cIn Paris,\u201d a tragic love story that garnered only mixed reviews. He\u2019d sunk $250,000 of his own money into the project.<\/p>\n

Although the actor-dancer recently turned 65, he\u2019s been quoted as saying, \u201cI never celebrate my birthdays. I really don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said: \u201cYour body actually reminds you about your age and your injuries \u2014 the body has a stronger memory than your mind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Does his body hold up as he effectively makes the leap from one Chekhov short story to the other?<\/p>\n

Absolutely.<\/p>\n

Last year, Baryshnikov told the Washington Post, \u201cI have been in successful productions sometimes. And I\u2019ve sucked many times, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hey, Misha, there\u2019s zero suckage this time.<\/p>\n

\u201cMan in a Case\u201d plays at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre\u2018s Roda<\/em> Theatre, 2015 Addison St., Berkeley, through Feb. 16. Night performances, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Wednesdays, 7 p.m. Matinees, Sundays, 2 p.m. Tickets: $22.50 to $125, subject to change, (510) 647-2949 or www.berkeleyrep.org.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Woody’s [rating:5] “Man in a Case,\u201d the new Mikhail Baryshnikov star turn, melds uncountable elements. Radiantly. But the dramatic Berkeley Rep re-invention of two Anton Chekhov short stories is so…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10208","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"