Theater review: Three Sisters

In the 20-plus years I’ve been attending the Arden, I’ve seen many fine shows. But this one is something special. Faced with the challenge of one of the greatest modern plays in the repertoire, director Terry Nolen has upped his game. This labor of love, done in collaboration with artists from Trinity Rep in Rhode Island, was two years in the making, and it shows in every detail. Arden’s Three Sisters is always intriguing and often triumphant — a must-see!

Critics will differ on which of Anton Chekhov’s major plays is his finest, but, for me, Three Sisters wins hands down. Where the others are steeped in 19th-century, well-made-play dramaturgy, this one (written in 1900) is astoundingly modern in its looseness and ambiguity. There are no “big moments” — only a parade of the seemingly small ones that make up a life. 

Chekhov’s focus is the three Prozorov sisters — Olga, Masha and Irina — who live in a provincial Russian town. Though all three women are in their 20s, they seem much older — “worn out” is a phrase heard often in Curt Columbus’ fine new translation. Surrounded by friends and family (Masha is unhappily married; Olga and Irina are single), the sisters experience moments of hope, but more often frustration. 

As much as the Prozorovs wish to move forward — represented by the iconic dream of returning to Moscow — they’re defeated by an unexplained but inexorable torpor. My favorite moment in the play, a silent one, perfectly distills the problem — at a dinner party, an admiring friend gives Irina a child’s toy top. As it spins, the guests, frozen in incomprehension, simply stare.

That superbly realized image is one of many. The design, Eugene Lee’s scenery especially, is first-rate. But even aside from its look and sound, Nolen’s production adopts a framing device wherein we’re watching his cast rehearsing Three Sisters. It’s not a new idea — Louis Malle’s film Vanya on 42nd Street does something similar — but the beauty here is how it continues to change throughout. I won’t spoil the pleasure of it, but will say that this is no single conceit, but an evolving vision that redefines the play. 

The evening is full of revelatory moments. I was initially dubious about the amount of singing and dancing that begins each act, but it really builds the necessary sense of camaraderie and establishes a welcome brisk pace. And more than ever before, I really understood why Chekhov always called Three Sisters a comedy (a dark one, but still a comedy). The various male characters — brother Andrei and the friends, neighbors and garrisoned soldiers who surround the Prozorovs — have never seemed more linked to the sad clowns of Shakespeare. These roles are notably well taken at the Arden by a host of favorite local actors, including Luigi Sottile, Sam Henderson, James Ijames, Louis Lippa, Jake Blouch and the great Scott Greer, who gives a career-defining performance as the sad, funny Dr. Chebutykin. And Ian Merrill Peakes is so touching, funny and sexy as the elegant Colonel Vershinin that it’s easy to understand why Masha falls for him.

But the play, of course, belongs to the sisters. Here, they are an unusually cohesive and, happily, age-appropriate group — tradition often has them played by older actresses. As Olga, Sarah Sanford is poignantly self-effacing, making the character more likeable than she often seems. Katharine Powell is a tart, sophisticated Masha and Mary Tuomanen, a refreshingly forthright Irina, free of coy ingénue mannerisms. Three Sisters is a cultural event that sets a new standard.

Three Sisters, through April 20, $36-$48, Arden Theatre, 40 N. Second St., 215-922-1122, ardentheatre.org.