THE SEAGULL; Brigham Young University Fine Arts; Margetts Theater, Harris Fine Arts Center; through Nov. 17; 422-4322; running time: 1 hour 45 minutes with one intermission.
PROVO — The most surrealistic part of reviewing Brigham Young University's production of Anton Chekov's "The Seagull" wasn't in the watching of the play. It came with the moderated discussion that followed.
In this tale where no one gets what they seek and most would not do well even if they got it, a desperately lovesick suitor places a dead seagull at the feet of the woman he loves. He tells her that soon, he, too, will be like that bird — and shortly thereafter attempts suicide.
The moderator suggested the woman could not possibly have been interested in a man who gave her a dead gull. She may be right, but the entire symbolism of the play rests on the idea that the bird foreshadows what will follow and signifies broken characters that will destroy each other. I simply haven't ever thought of Chekov as a master of bad dating strategy.
That said, director Barta Heiner has succeeded in bringing clarity in presenting a play that can be convoluted, confusing and unfocused. Many of the actors are performing their senior project in this production, and it shows. The acting is very good. Each performer is entirely believable — if a bit melodramatic — and skilled. This is an ensemble cast, and without each doing his or her job well, "The Seagull" would not work.
Some of the actors, however, stand out. With Jason Purdie as Konstantin Treplev, you see a despairing suitor who doesn't get attention or validation from either his mother or his beloved. Even with some success that comes later, one gets a sense that he is a bit unhinged, and it would take only one more devastation to annihilate him.
Caitlin Wise as Nina Zarechnaya takes the audience with her as she theatrically destroys her life by loving the wrong man. David S. Julien as the shallow, successful and self-absorbed writer Trigorin is just smug enough to reveal the true nature of the character, and Lauren Noll as Treplev's mother and Trigorin's mistress has a brittleness that makes you want to drop her and see if she shatters.
Occasionally this play is done as a comedy because the ironies are abundant and there's a certain paradox in the script's circuitry. To have successfully performed the play as a comedy would have required quicker lines and tighter moments; this play works better as tragedy. There are few things more tragic than living one's life shamefully.
Staging it in the Margett's Arena Theater allows an intimacy that almost allows the audience to be in the scene, which is good, because it is necessary to be fully engaged in the dialogue.
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