In this new Lincoln Center Theater production, Steve Carell plays Anton Chekhov’s tragic title character. But nothing seems to connect.
NEW YORK — Filled with sad-sack characters living lives of soul-sucking boredom, Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” ain’t ever a walk in the park to produce or, for that matter, to watch.
Molina, relentlessly and yet deliciously loquacious, has the unexamined life down cold. But that’s about the only performance that feels fully secure here, mostly because this is a character utterly oblivious to the needs of other human beings. Frankly, when the most interesting moment is when it rains on stage and your eyes go to the drainage mechanism rather than anyone’s ecstasy or soggy despair, that’s not an especially good sign.
Some of the performances have their moments: Pill’s Sonya is an empathetic creation, even if she spends so much time moving around the stage, she’s hard for an audience to pin down. Jonathan Hadary, one of the great unsung actors of his generation, is tonally apt as Waffles. Other performers perk up for moments and potent scenes, only to disappear back down as nothing fully builds.
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