VENUE
Barrymore Theatre, N.Y. (through March 19)
CAST
Cate Blanchett, Richard Roxburgh, Anna Bamford, Andrew Buchanan, David Downer, Eamon Farren
DIRECTOR
John Crowley
PLAYWRIGHT
Andrew Upton, based on Anton Chekhov’s Platonov
Despite the crescendos, gunshots, meltdowns and farcical entanglements that punctuate The Present, it’s the aroma of regret that perfumes the air in Andrew Upton’s vigorous reworking of Anton Chekhov’s first play, Platonov.
The draw is the chemistry between Cate Blanchett (in her Broadway debut) and Richard Roxburgh, both superb, playing characters whose dissatisfaction spreads like contagion among the guests at a birthday party. But the Sydney Theatre Company import also is a compelling portrait of people “trapped in loveless lives,” suspended between a past of illusory splendor and a compromised future.
What’s most surprising about this expertly calibrated production…