THREE SISTERS presented Northern Kentucky University SOTA through Oct. 27. I attended the opening Sunday performance.
Rachel Kazee as Masha, Chelsea Trammell as Olga & Hannah Beaven as Irina. Photo by Jesse Byerly.
Under the direction of Michael King, strong character work highlights this production of Chekov’s THREE SISTERS.
Chelsea Trammell as Olga, Rachel Kazee as Masha, and Hannah Beaven as Irina impress as the titular trio.
Gabriela Barbosa-Gonzales as Natasha & Joel Parece as Andrei. Photo by Jesse Byerly.
It was great to see character changes across the ensemble as time jumped between the acts. Joel Parece (as brother Andrei) handled the transition from bookish introvert to haunted husband and father very well. Even with the larger cast, the relationships were well-defined and easy to follow over the course of the performance.
The set element at the end of the play area was visually strong and smartly lit. The set pieces and decor were well-chosen and well-placed. I never had a problem with sightlines or felt they hindered the actors’ movement.
Costume and make-up designs for the characters worked well. Maybe some kind of makeup prosthetic could have been used to keep Irina’s “unattractive” reference to Tuzenbach from generating an unintentional laugh from the audience. 😜
Congratulations on an engaging production.
My rating: 4.5 out of 5.
Click here for more information on the production.
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 