New York Review: “Anna Karenina: a riff” presented by Notch Theatre Company at The Flea Theater
Natalie Rine, Associate New York Critic
The tightrope between glamorizing historical Russian culture and condoning modern Russian political terror is precarious in 2019; one need only flip through an average day’s news cycle to see this conundrum play out in situations such as the Ukraine’s ban on Russian culture last year, or the questionable balance of politics and art by DC’s Carmel Institute of Russian Culture and History. Beyond our US foreign policy qualms, however, exists the acknowledgement and teaching of Russian art as it has influenced us even today up to the modern Western world: music, dance, art, and novels, unparalleled in a certain je ne sais quoi that has us coming back for more time and time again, repeatedly being remolded and adapted, speaking to multiple generations and countries over time.
Russian society (at least as portrayed by their own cultural exports) is deeply and exclusively preoccupied with itself, its own nature and destiny. From the 1800s until today, the subject of almost all critical and imaginative writing in Russia is Russia. The great Russian novelists, as well as many of the characters in their novels, are continuously concerned not merely with their purposes as human beings or members of families or classes or professions, but with their condition or mission or future as Russians, members of a unique society with unique problems. It is precisely this national self-absorption that is found in the classic Tolstoy novel “Anna Karenina,” being examined and turned on its head currently by the gripping Notch Theatre Company’s musical adaptation “Anna Karenina: a riff” playing at The Flea downtown.
Notch’s production electrifies as a rollicking, fresh investigation of Tolstoy’s classic novel, bursting with a folk-rock score that pokes and prods at the consequences of female rebellion, bringing bold new questions into an arresting, quasi-contemporary conversation on the role of women in families, communities, and countries. While set in the traditional 1880s, Gwen Kingston’s fiery, piercing writing excavates and questions the barriers between time, allowing us to vacillate between then and now using moments of self-aware, modern dialogue (“I should have stuck with prostitutes”, “I think they’re called sex workers now”, “Oh I like that!”). Paired with Ashley Teague’s inventive direction, this small but strong production is a declaration of Notch Theatre Company’s visceral, scintillating point of view that is a force to be reckoned with as even the best of current day Broadway’s appeal to address modern themes pales in comparison to their earnestness, honesty, and heart (with Hamilton a notable exception).
“Anna Karenina”’s definitive tale of one woman’s doomed simultaneous spirals into an affair and self-empowerment will of course continue to be relevant until gender parity within public and private spheres is achieved. This production elevates the dual storylines of Anna, showing a jaded middle-aged approach to fizzled out love, and her young friend Kitty exemplifying naïve self-exploration and dreaming. While the men of the story hum along on one straight line of wooing, worshipping, or sleeping with whoever almost interchangeably or mechanically just to “study women,” literally every single female character must journey through a flurry of questions revolving around self-doubt and self-discovery, going up and down on a tumultuous path more in line with the powerless position women found themselves in at the time not being the master of their own fate.
Instead of this viewpoint coming from that of a single character, however, true to Tolstoy’s novel, Notch Theatre Company’s musical slips in and out of the consciousness of dozens of characters, major and minor, both showing and telling the plethora of events that span the eight-hundred-page story. The delightful opening few scenes establish explicitly with tongue-in-cheek that “we’re in Russia,” and “we don’t have a big production budget so pretend this is a skating rink.” In bad hands such delivery could be kitsch, but here we are immediately sized up by the band (comprised of members aptly named Boris, Boris, and Boris, played with jaw-dropping talent by Erikka Walsh, Louis Reyes McWilliams, and Aleca Piper) who act as our narrator, singing when characters’ words fail them and appearing deliciously as the characters’ inner thoughts. Even while we're in a character's head, it's one of these narrators who recounts the character's true emotions often through modern semblances of thought, desire, and sexuality with a pulsating score that cuts them down to the bone.
Kingston and Teague create a space for the narrator's independence – the narrator is close enough to the characters to rely on them for their existence, but free enough to pass unchallenged judgment on their actions, going so far as to even question the audience why we are here to witness such a sad story. The most powerful moments of the show are those where the actors slow down to allow the narrators to note each thought, gesture and feeling of their burgeoning self-discovery, whether Anna and her lover Vronsky, or Kitty and her lover Levin, not only playfully mocking our oft-hilarious inner monologue, but also standing back to tell us the ways in which one is misunderstanding the other through their own self-absorption.
Teague utilizes dynamic, fluid staging to steal the show. An intimate space featuring only one sideways piano that doubles as a set piece where characters access vodka, instruments, and other items as a table, the small Flea Theater provides a close-up where characters’ gorgeous gowns (by Susanne Houstle) brush the audience, where the band plays bird noises and train calls and surround sound effects right next to us. There also features a genius use of the clear, windowed, outside doors to the space allowing the outdoor playing space to be an extension of the stage of sorts, giving us a glimpse of Anna’s literal ostracization from the rest of society and lit beyond perfection for haunting effect by Megan Lang.
Acting also as the title character, the incomparable Gwen Kingston is heart-breaking, as poised and broken as misplaced porcelain. What’s most applaudable is her nuanced performance from the beginning of the piece indicating consistently through waning glances and glitches that she doesn’t feel quite at home in her own body and life; such little blips and cracks in her facade crescendo so her doomed fate is not sudden, but rather all the more devastating. She finds her foil in Marina Morrissey playing the hilariously exhausted wife and mother Dolly, who steals the show with her own revelations about female empowerment and roles. I would be amiss not to mention the entire cast though, as each one shines and delights in side-splitting deliveries that had our intimate audience howling with laughter.
One of the best new musical scores I’ve heard all year, “Anna Karenina: a riff” features music composition by Will Turner, Teresa Lotz & Christie Baugher with music direction by Yan Li. Beyond all the toe-tapping folk-rock, a personal highlight was their act two anthem that cut through the 19th century right to the heart of this story, waxing diegetic how only when all the melody and rhymes and singing end will women be free of constricting expectations. Staged so that the trifecta of Anna, Dolly, and Kitty are primping themselves even after a whole two acts of conflict in order to look good for men and society, their goal of happiness and peace is still trapped in the rigid confines of song and dance until they can break free of the verse/chorus/verse prison where they perform in their own ways for the world. It was only at this song of self-reflection that I found myself floored by the revelation that the inherent structure of the novel, and now musical, mirror the feminist theory of the circular view of time by moving not in the male-centric exposition-climax-resolution structure, but rather it wins us over by numerous small climaxes, twists, and turns of events, moving forward in a circle of repetition and new life even after our heroine meets her end. The subtly with which this beauty hits you between the waves of wit and hilarity cannot be praised enough.
Ultimately, “Anna Karenina: a riff” is the perfect intellectual and emotional antidote to pushing aside all the negativities of modern-day news and inner demons to immerse yourself in a romp of music, humor, and heartbreak for two hours. I would without doubt drudge through the snow of Siberia to see this musical again.
Anna Karenina: a riff
Notch Theatre Company’s “Anna Karenina: a riff,” based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy, is written by Gwen Kingston and is directed by Ashley Teague. Cast includes Quinn Franzen, Sam Khazai, Gwen Kingston, Louis Reyes McWilliams, Marina Morrissey, Aleca Piper, Michael Vitaly Sazonov, Portland Thomas, and Erikka Walsh. Production team includes: Music Composition by Will Turner, Teresa Lotz & Christie Baugher; Music Direction by Yan Li; Scenic and Costume Design by Susanne Houstle; Lighting Design by Megan Lang; Producer: Annie Middleton; Creative Producer: Marina Morrissey; Production Stage Manager: Jenny Kennedy; Assistant Stage Manager: Julia Perez; Casting by Eisenberg/Beans Casting; Marketing & Community Engagement: Jessica Kahkoska; Artwork: Rachel Birnbaum. Run time is 2 hours with intermission.
“Anna Karenina: a riff” runs at The Flea Theater (20 Thomas Street) through December 20. Tickets are $35 for General Admission. Student and senior (65+) tickets for $20, based on availability and with a valid student ID. Tickets can be purchased online. Learn more about the production company at: www.notchtheatre.org
Photo credit: Jon Burklund