While both [actors] may bring some luster to the box office...they don't do much to enliven the director Erica Schmidt's torpid staging of this delicate play...there's so little texture to the acting here that the passions stirring inside the characters remain opaque or are indicated in overly blunt
ompany's greatly condensed production...John Christopher Jones' ambitious translation has reduced the play from five hours to two, which, combined with Erica Schmidt's uneven direction, creates a near-farcical pace that necessarily eclipses some complex psychological nuances and fluidity of language...
.Performed in an accessible and vibrant new translation by veteran character actor John Christopher Jones, the play streamlined to a briskly paced running time of slightly more than two hours sparkles under the direction of Erica Schmidt. Among the well-honed ensemble, the standout is Dinklage (Schm
the insensitivity of narcissism that makes her so oblivious to his pain? Turgenev must have been a little in love with his capricious heroine, given the almost obsessive attention he pays to her erratic but fascinating psychology. For poor Rakitin, he has nothing but compassion. Helmer Erica Schmidt..
Adam Feldman, Time Out NY: In Erica Schmidt's brisk, absorbing revival at Classic Stage Company, Schilling brings disarming warmth to a potentially chilly character, and there is great depth of field in the ensemble cast (which includes Elizabeth Franz, Annabella Sciorra and the exceptional Thomas J
Matt Windman, AM New York: The production, directed by Erica Schmidt, is only intermittently engaging, and that can be blamed on a perplexing scenic design, a disappointing performance from Schilling and the fact that the play simply does not hold up very well. Perhaps it would come alive in a stron
iven that kind of star power in this intimate a theater -- plus the cast's tendency to break the fourth wall and talk directly to you -- you'd expect this to be one transfixing night of Turgenev. But Erica Schmidt's production is only passingly passionate, fitfully funny and more than a little distant.
Fern Siegel, The Huffington Post: Director Erica Schmidt keeps the pace brisk and elicits good performances from her cast. Actors often speak directly to the audience, making the production more intimate. Of special note are the scenes between West and Faist, who embody all the openness and anxiety