A production of two of Anton Chekhov’s one-act plays, “The Bear” and “The Proposal,” opened last Thursday to a packed audience in Russell Hall in Gorham.
As the audience took their seats, old-fashioned balalaika music serenaded them off to nineteenth century Russia, setting the mood perfectly. After a few minutes, the lights dimmed, the music stopped, the audience went silent in eager anticipation, and “The Bear” began.
Although “The Bear” got off to a bit of a rough start on opening night with the actors over-playing their parts and making the whole thing too serious, the cast nailed the performance on Friday. In particular, Matthew Diore was hilarious as the comical moneylender Smirnov, a part he played with the timing and intonation of Will Ferrell in “Anchorman.” Every time he delivered the character’s classic line, “I’m so furious,” the audience erupted in laughter.
“I thought the actors and actresses did a really good job staying in character,” said Ethan Chanterelle who saw the production on Friday. Given the plays’ bombastic sense of humor in which the characters scream and yell, and one even falls off of a bench, it could not have been easy for the actors to avoid cracking up, but they did so admirably.
The set featured an elaborate staircase in the middle of the stage that looked at first like it could be trouble, but the actors maneuvered on and off of it smoothly. Sarah Dube, who played Natalya in “The Proposal,” even managed to run around the stage energetically without sounding winded or losing track of her well thought out facial expressions.
Overall, the production was a hit, and every show ended with a well-deserved standing ovation.