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‘The Seagull’ at PushPush
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THEATER REVIEW. “The Seagull.” PushPush Theater. Through Oct. 1
Masha snorts coke and sports a nose ring. She’s bored with Medvedenko and can’t conquer the brooding Konstantin. No wonder poor Konstantin keeps crawling under the stage like a frightened turtle. Everyone, including his mother Irina, mocks his performance art.
Sounds like PushPush Theater has decided to update “The Seagull.” But you don’t have to be a Chekhov maven to appreciate how the Decatur ensemble uses its collaborative method to sharpen the sting of this dark comedy of vanity, shattered dreams and suicide.
Guided by PushPush artistic director Tim Habeger, this adaptation turns the somber Russian chamber piece into the equivalent of a garage band with a droning tendency. While Jacob Gentry’s film sequences are stylish and beautifully crafted, the play sometimes feels inert and self-consciously talky. The production can be clunky, too, as when the actors announce their entrances by opening doors that jar the senses with daylight and noise.
But Shelby Hofer (Masha) and Randy Havens (Medvedenko) —- two of the city’s more quirky and under-appreciated character actors —- really shine here. And Carol Mitchell-Leon invests her Irina with an attitude of insufferability and imperiousness that will make children of bad parents feel painfully at home.
THE 411: 8 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 5 p.m. Sundays. Through Oct. 1. $12-$16. PushPush Theater. 121 New St., Decatur. 404-377-6332, www.pushpushtheater.com.
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