I have to say it: I'm first and foremost glad that people even go to a play I'm in, even more so when they write serious reviews of it. Here's one from
BroadwayWorld.com, by Mark Squirek, that's not, shall we say, quite sold on my performance:
http://www.broadwayworld.com/baltimore/article/BWW-Reviews-RUSSIAN-REVOLUTION-4-BY-CHEKHOV-by-Guest-Critic-Mark-Squirek-20140310#.UzcqQV5g3TE.
I'll say no more about this review. Please read it for yourself. But I will provide the snippets about me, you know, just to preserve them, in case the site gets taken down, or archived, or something.
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On "The Proposal" (which gets more approving toward the end):
Lomov is, as almost any suitor would
be, naturally nervous. And so the excessive movement begins....and
seldom stops for the rest of the evening.
When his intended Natasha shows up, the
movement slips into overdrive. As Lomov, Barnoy begins to prowl the
stage with the unfocused energy of a three year old who has to pee.
With none of the odd charm found in a three year old.
At first Natasha anchors herself to a
corner of the dining room table on the far right side of the stage.
There she sits for the next few minutes as Lomov bobs and weaves in
and out of hers space as if he is a boxer deciding whether to finally
hit his opponent or just go for a sandwich. One minute Barnoy is
over-selling his point one minute and the next, under-selling as he
occasionally slips into mumbling.
When Natasha is finally pulled into the
action, the piece quickly devolves into a shrieking match between two
birds with Barnoy flailing away trying to add a second dimension to
his character.
Malkus does the heavy lifting for them
both as, even though she is forced to match Barnoy's tone, her
Natasha stays logically engaged and true to the idea that inane,
furious arguments can grow out of the least likely circumstance.
When Chubukova returns to find out what
all the screaming is up to there is no place for Weinert to go with
her character except right to the top of the already shattered
emotional stratosphere For the next few minutes the actor's seldom
stop moving.
Which leads back to the biggest problem
of the evening, the excessive movement. That said, when the movement
stops, the plays become a joy.
Near the end Natasha and Lomov are
alone on the couch. Everything and everyone one is, for a second,
finally still. Slowly Natasha begins to rub her stockinged-leg
against a pre-occupied Lomov.
And Barnoy and Malkus are absolutely
wonderful to watch.
In a few simple gestures Malkus
(Natasha) delivers a very-real woman using what she has to manipulate
and charm her newfound husband-to-be. A calmed down Barnoy (as Lomov)
is perfect as the disorientated suitor. His energy moves to the
internal and for the first time we see him think, we see him engaged.
And, on "The Reluctant Tragic Hero" (which rightly applauds Alisa Padon, my partner in this play):
The third one-act, The Reluctant Tragic
Hero, features Alisa Padon as Murashkina. Creating a wonderful and
understanding foil for the put-upon Tolkachov, Barnoy's second
character of the evening.
Just as he had in The Proposal, Barnoy
places his character in the world of animation by running back and
forth like a monkey on a hotplate. This makes Padon's relatively
motionless take on Murashkina even enjoyable as she stands by
helplessly filled with equal measure of disbelief and concern.
-- Mark Squirek, BroadwayWorld Reviews
