Review of The Hypocrites' Three Sisters

Once upon a time I went to a show and it was called Three Sisters. It was by Anton Chekhov and it was directed and adapted by Geoff Button. It was about this family of three sisters--Irina (Hilary Williams), Olga (Mary Williamson), and Masha (Lindsey Gavel)--and a brother Andrei (Joel Ewing). And there were a bunch of soldiers that come over to the house to see them because some of them were old family friends, but then their connections became too strong with the soldiers so it was hard for them to let go. It was about thinking you know someone more than you actually do, sad people that still have some humor, and family. I had a lot of fun at this show. It was very funny because of the characters but then it was also very sad because the funny people had so many hard and sad things happen to them.

In this play there are people who think that they know somebody but once they are married to them, they realize the dark side to them. These people are Andrei and Natasha (Erin Barlow) and Fyodor (D'Wayne Taylor) and Masha. When Fyodor marries Masha he thinks that she is going to be the perfect loving housewife and never love anyone else but him. Masha thinks that she will love him forever because he is so smart and talented. He doesn't understand how bitter she will become and she doesn't understand when she marries him that she shouldn't have gotten married to someone she doesn't love just to get away. You can spend a little bit more time in a not amazing place for you if later you get to be with the love of your life. Andrei thinks Natasha is just an innocent town girl who will be nice and kind for her whole life. He doesn't understand that she will turn into a mean and demon-like person. He is not very happy with his choices. She marries him thinking he is going to be a professor, but he is just on the town council. There is one other instance where one person knows another very well, but it is still not a good relationship. Fedotik (Ned Baker) gives childish toys to Irina and she says, "Oh you are giving me toys for a baby." But then she turns out to actually like them, which shows you how much he actually knows about her. But Irina doesn't know very much about him.

Masha and Vershinin (Vance Smith) are different because they take time to get to know each other. Each day they talk to each other about life and about themselves. But then with the other couples, they just make guesses about the other person and don't actually have a conversation about themselves and get to know the other person. Vershinin and Masha have actually known each other for a very long time even though they don't actually remember each other very well. Even though their relationship is great, it still doesn't work out very well. People who don't even love each other get to be married, but they don't because they are both married to other people. I think that is unfortunate in the world of love because they married other people too fast before they actually meet the person that they love.

There are a lot of sad people in this show that are still funny. One of those people is Tuzenbach (Noah Simon) because he is very funny but it seems like he is very depressed because he thinks the woman he loves doesn't love him in return. At the very beginning he starts singing about Vershinin and how his wife is really crazy and strange and Vershinin's life and what is happening in it. And he talk-sings it while playing the piano. I was cracking up. I found it very funny! He was kind of preparing them for how depressed and strange Vershinin was going to be. I think he was also trying to deal with his own sadness by singing about someone else's life that was slightly more crappy than his. Solyony (John Kahara) is just mostly super depressing. People in the play don't usually laugh with him like they do with Tuzenbach. They just laugh at him. I just felt sorry for him because he didn't feel happy with any of his choices. People do laugh with Chebutykin (Bill McGough) because he is old and he is funny. It was funny and sad at the same time when he was talking to the vodka bottle. It was very funny because nobody usually talks to liquor, but it was sad at the same time because he seemed not really to have hope anymore. And that is pretty sad to see an old guy who the person he loves, the sisters' mom, he is not going to see again.

This play is about family because it shows that even if you are not actually family, you can be family. Anfisa (Mary Poole) is like family to them because she has been with them such a long time. Natasha says that she is too old and they have to get rid of her, but then they won't because they love her too much and they have known her for too long. She would have to live on the streets, but Olga gives her an apartment to stay in with her. I think that was great. But what is kind of sad about it is that Andrei who is part of the actual family is not as loyal as the people who are not actually part of the family. The three sisters have a very good relationship because of how they always stick together even though it is hard on them all the time because they haven't had a full set of parents for a long time. They want to go to Moscow because they want to go back to where they lived with their mother and had a nice house. And then also so they can get away from their brother because he has a jerky wife and he gambles. I think they want to go as just the three sisters. But they don't get to because sometimes things that you want don't actually happen because of life.

People who would like this show are people who like funny songs about more unfortunate people, Moscow, and intimate conversations with vodka. I think that people should definitely definitely go see this show. I thought it was a great adaptation because it got all the fun moments and all the important moments in without making it super long. I had a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it!

Photos:Evan Hanover