Another Four by Chekhov Review

Here's another nice review of the show:
http://www.dcmetrotheaterarts.com/2014/03/11/4-chekov-fells-point-corner-theatre/.

And here are the snippets about me:

The Proposal
The shrieking in this one-act is unbearable at times because of its shrill pitch and intense volume, but this sketch is by far the funniest of the four. Lomov (Ishai Barnoy) plays a dreadfully nervous lad with a woefully paranoid complex that carries through his physicality and out into his speech. Cherie Weinert as the obstinate and mulish mother is a comic hoot, and that’s a fact! Rounding out the trio is Laura Malkus as the young love interest Natasha. There are outbursts of indignation from Weinert that will make your toes curl while the biting banter between Barnoy and Malkus will keep you gasping for breath between bouts of laughter. All three performers give exceptionally well versed renditions of these heightened and overdramatic characters; playing them to the top of their existences with theatrically heightened hysterics. And all the rest of it is a maniacal roller coaster of shouting, screaming, hilarity well suited for truly exposing the humor in Chekhov’s work. Bring your earplugs and laugh away!

The Reluctant Tragic Hero

While Alisa Padon plays a mostly silent character it is her responses to Ishai Barnoy (as the spastic Tolkachov) that are well worth watching. Barnoy develops a vividly animated character that borders on the edge of lunacy. Using every inch of his body to articulate the stresses of a summer in the country, his limbs become an extension of his vocal exasperation. Watching Barnoy’s constant motion and listening to the continuing increase in his frantic speech is exhausting in the most comic fashion possible. Barnoy even makes monotony sound treacherously fatiguing as he rolls through a segment of his monologue about the humdrum routine in the country without pausing to draw breath. Watching Barnoy’s portrayal of a man at the very last filament of his very frayed and frazzled rope is a good deal more humorous than it ought to be. Keeping pace with Barnoy’s character will be quite the task but it comes with a healthy dose of humor in the process.

-- Amanda Gunther, DC Metro Theater Arts