{"id":17002,"date":"2015-03-25T10:11:55","date_gmt":"2015-03-25T17:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=17002"},"modified":"2015-03-25T14:06:27","modified_gmt":"2015-03-25T21:06:27","slug":"turgenevs-1848-moving-comedy-a-month-in-the-country-at-rvp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/turgenevs-1848-moving-comedy-a-month-in-the-country-at-rvp\/","title":{"rendered":"Turgenev\u2019s Moving 1848 Comedy “A Month in the Country” at RVP"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are greeted with the sounds of birds chirping in the wings of <\/span>Ken Rowland\u2019s<\/span><\/strong> lovely outdoor set, which quickly converts to an inner living room and dining room.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The play begins with the entire cast offering themselves to the audience with what <\/span>Director <\/span><\/strong>James Nelson<\/span><\/strong> terms as their outstretched hands inviting the audience to come with them on the journey of their story. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We are about to see <\/span>Brian Friel\u2019s<\/span><\/strong> adaptation of <\/span>Turgenev\u2019s <\/span><\/strong>1848 classic <\/span>A Month in the Country<\/span><\/em><\/strong>.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>The setting we have just seen is the Estate of Arkady Islayev in Russia. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Natalya (<\/span>Shannon Veon Kase<\/span><\/strong>) is married to Arkady (<\/span>Tom Hudgens<\/span><\/strong>), a rich land-owner 7-years her senior.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Bored with life, she welcomes the attention of <\/span>Michel (<\/span>Ben Ortega<\/span><\/strong>)<\/span> as her devoted but resentful admirer, without ever letting their friendship ever develop into a love affair. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Shannon Veon Kase, Zach Stewart<\/p><\/div>\n

The arrival of the handsome 21-year-old student <\/span>Alexsey (<\/span>Zach Stewart<\/span><\/strong>)<\/span> as a tutor to her son ends Natalya\u2019s boredom.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>She falls in love with <\/span>Alexsey<\/span> and so does her ward Vera (<\/span>Emily Ludlow<\/span><\/strong>), the Islayev\u2019s 17-year-old foster daughter.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>To rid herself of her rival, Natalya proposes that Vera should marry a rich old neighbor, but the rivalry remains unresolved.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Michel struggles with his love for Natalya as she wrestles with <\/span>hers<\/span><\/em> for Alexsey, while <\/span>Vera<\/span><\/span> and <\/span>Alexsey<\/span> draw closer.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Misunderstandings arise, and after Michel begins to have his suspicions, both Michel and Alexsey are obliged to leave.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>As other members of the household drift off to their own world, Natalya\u2019s life returns to a state of boredom. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Both servants, Matvey (<\/span>Johnny DeBernard<\/span><\/strong>) and <\/span>Katya (<\/span>Jocelyn Roddie<\/span><\/strong>),<\/span> did an excellent job of adding some good physical comedy and romance to the story, as well.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Secondary characters include Arkady\u2019s mother Anna (<\/span>Kim Bromley<\/span><\/strong>), her companion <\/span>Lizaveta (<\/span>Robyn Wiley<\/span><\/strong>)<\/span>, a neighbor Bolshintsov (<\/span>Frederick Lein<\/span><\/strong>), Dr. Shpigelsky (<\/span>Wood Lockhart<\/span><\/strong>) and a German tutor Herr <\/span>Schaaf (<\/span>Mark Shepard<\/span><\/strong>)<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Michael A. Berg\u2019s<\/span><\/strong> costumes are right on target as is the effective lighting design by <\/span>Frank Sarrubi<\/span><\/strong> which added much to the play\u2019s atmosphere.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Director James Nelson was largely successful in finding 12 actors skilled in playing comedy.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

According to Director Nelson, <\/span>A Month in the Country<\/span><\/em><\/strong> is a play about the \u201cdestructive and incendiary nature of desire.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>There is a web of romantic pursuit involving every one of the 12 characters, and we see offers, rejections, dismissals, and evasions of love at every turn, providing a <\/span>fiery<\/span><\/em> contrast to the calm, polite setting of an isolated Russian country estate.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Month in the Country<\/span><\/em><\/strong> runs from March 13 through April 12, 2015, with performances on <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Thursdays<\/span><\/strong> 7:30 pm on March 12, 19, and 26; April 2 and 9<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Fridays<\/span><\/strong> 8:00 pm on March 13, 20, and 27; April 3 and 10<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Saturdays<\/span><\/strong> 8:00 pm on March 14, 21, and 28<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

(Saturday, April 11<\/span><\/strong>: 2:00 pm Matinee <\/span>and<\/span><\/span><\/strong> 8:00 pm<\/span>)<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sundays<\/span><\/strong> 2:00 pm on March 22, 29, and April 12<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All performances take place at <\/span>The Barn Theatre<\/span><\/strong>, home of the Ross Valley Players, 30 Sir Francis Drake Blvd. in Ross CA.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>To order tickets, telephone 415-456-9555 ext. 1, or online at <\/span><\/span>www.rossvalleyplayers.com<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Coming up next at Ross Valley Players is <\/span>The Clean House<\/span><\/em><\/strong> by <\/span>Sarah Ruhl<\/span><\/strong> and Directed by <\/span>JoAnne Winter<\/span><\/strong> from May 15 through June 14, 2015. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Flora Lynn Isaacson<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We are greeted with the sounds of birds chirping in the wings of Ken Rowland\u2019s lovely outdoor set, which quickly converts to an inner living room and dining room.\u00a0 The…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":17014,"comment_status":"open","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":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17002","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-flora-lynn-isaacson"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"