Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"...Kevin Gudahl has been playing a lot of bitter middle-age men this last year or two and he brings powerful resources to Vanya, whose life disintegrates here, right before our eyes. He's such a fine actor, I suspect he has more yet to give than we saw on opening night. Ensuing weeks likely will deepen his despair."
Chicago Sun Times
- Highly Recommended
"...Newell, a masterful director, is clearly at the height of his powers. He has wrestled lovingly with Chekhov for years, and they have become formidable partners in spirit and motion, with John Culbert's lighting, Miranda Hoffman's costumes and sound design by Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman all exquisitely interwoven."
Daily Herald
- Highly Recommended
"...Breslau's towering set - a minimalist, multi-level, wood-and-steel sculpture whose stairs, platforms and overhead walkways suggest a 19th century Russian country estate - provides a striking backdrop for this playful, imaginative revival of Anton Chekhov's classic comic-tragedy about wasted lives and unrequited love."
Chicago Reader
- Highly Recommended
"...Kevin Gudahl's Vanya is a charming mess, Timothy Edward Kane's Astrov is feckless and anguished, and Elizabeth Ledo's tomboy Sonya is every good-hearted woman who deserves great love--and will never find it. The aesthetic is minimalist, but the emotional palette is rich."
Gay Chicago Magazine
- Highly Recommended
"...The cast is as good as can be found on any stage, with exceptional heart warming tenderness provided by Penny Slusher as Marina, the family’s old nurse, and an idiosyncratically riveting performance by Timothy Edward Kane as Astrov, the family doctor."
EpochTimes
- Recommended
"...This is a strong production, well directed and acted and although it is two hours ( with no intermission) the time flies as we move from scene to scene on a very open set- lots of levels that seem to fit with the venue ( after all this is the MCA) designed by Leigh Breslau. Miranda Hoffman's costumes are perfection and the lighting effects by John Culbert aid to bring the play to life.Sound and music are by Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman and as always they are just right. This is a solid production that will help people understand Chekhov and his works."
Time Out Chicago
- Somewhat Recommended
"...with so much self-aware decadence and metatheatrical gimmicks distracting from the play itself—most garishly, the starkly lit soliloquies delivered into handheld microphones in front of the stage—it feels like a case of theatrical gout."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"...Newell’s revisionist production pours out Chekhov’s humor especially from Timothy Edward Kane and Kevin Gudhal—two of the finest Chicago actors working today. The swift pacing and movement together with terrific performances made the two hours fly by in an engagingly lively show."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Recommended
"...Newell's busy, high-energy staging emphasizes the silliness of these well-heeled characters' self pity and despair, turning "Vanya" into something of a black and bleak farce. This choice may not set too well with Chekhov purists, but it does make the neurotic agonies somewhat easier to swallow. Newell has his top-notch cast scrambling all over Breslau's architectural playground like a bunch of adolescents in heat."
