Life Sucks.

C-

Playwright Aaron Posner has built a reputation adapting other authors’ works. Among those to have received the Posner treatment are Chaim Potok (I saw My Name Is Asher Lev several years ago and enjoyed it), Ken Kesey, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut and, most recently, Anton Chekhov. First off was Stupid Fucking Bird, his take on The Seagull, which was well received. Then came No Sisters, his version of Three Sisters, which I don’t think has been seen in New York. Most recently, there is Life Sucks. which the program describes as “sort of adapted from Uncle Vanya.” Its Wheelhouse Theater Company production was dubbed a Critic’s Pick by the Times, so the show is now enjoying an encore run on Theatre Row with the same cast except for the title character. I’m afraid that I can’t join in the enthusiasm for the play. Posner’s method seems to involve using the F word as often as possible, adding a few contemporary touches such as a reference to student loans, and breaking the fourth wall not only to address the audience but to interrogate it. The list of characters mostly follows Chekhov except that family dependent “Waffles” has become “Pickles,” a lesbian, and Vanya’s mother has been replaced by a distant relative Babs, who is the closest thing to a well-adjusted character in the play. The acting is mostly solid. Austin Pendelton’s (Choir Boy) professor appeared so fragile that I feared he might not make it through the play. Kimberly Chatterjee (Pride and Prejudice) is a fine Sonia. Nadia Bowers (Describe the Night) is especially strong as the professor’s complicated wife Ella. Michael Schantz (Fashions for Men) is credible as Dr. Aster. Stacey Linnartz (Strange Bare Facts) does her best in the rather ludicrous role of Pickles. As Babs, Barbara Kingsley (August: Osage County) has almost nothing to do until late in the second act, when she commandeers the play for a lengthy reminiscence and a confession, neither of which remotely relates to Chekhov. Kevin Isola (Our Lady of 121st Street), who joined the cast as Vanya, seemed whinier than necessary. Except for a computer sitting on a table, the set by Brittany Vasta (Happy Birthday, Wanda Jane) with Tiffany lamps, floral wall hangings, generic furniture and a conspicuously unfinished back wall imprinted with instructions for the stagehands, could be anywhere anytime since the advent of electricity. The costumes by Christopher Metzger (Happy Birthday, Wanda Jane) are also nonspecific as to time or place. The direction by Jeff Wise (Happy Birthday, Wanda Jane) at times seemed sluggish, at other times indulgent. Aside for a few moments, such as the confrontation scene between Ella and Vanya, I was rarely moved. Perhaps if I had not seen Richard Nelson’s fine version at Hunter College this past season, I might have been more forgiving. In any case, this was not my cup of tea. Running time: two hours 30 minutes including intermission.

Between Riverside and Crazy ****

With his new play now in previews at the Atlantic Theater Company, Stephen Adly Guirgis proves once again that he is one of our most entertaining playwrights. Walter “Pops” Washington (the superb Stephen McKinley Henderson) is a black former cop whose career was ended by a hail of bullets in a dicey bar 8 years before the play opens. He has been recently widowed, his son Junior (Ray Anthony Thomas) has been in and out of jail and consorts with criminals such as Oswaldo (Victor Almanzar) who has moved in with them. Their household is completed by Lulu (Rosal Colon), Junior’s girlfriend, who has more curves than brains. We also meet Walter’s former partner Detective O’Connor (Elizabeth Canavan) and her fiance Lieutenant Caro (Michael Rispoli), an ambitious, politically well-connected cop. Last but not least is the Church Lady (Liza Colon-Zayas), a visitor who is not what she seems. Walter’s landlord is out to evict him from his rent-controlled apartment on Riverside Drive. Lt. Caro is determined to do whatever it takes to get Walter to sign a settlement with the city that he has been fighting for 8 years to remove loose ends in an election year and enhance his career. What makes the play so exciting is Guirgis’s dialogue. The language is rough, but the humor is wonderful. The play opens with a discussion of nutrition unlike any you are likely to hear again. Guirgis skillfully softens up the audience with humor so that when he turns serious, the impact is twice as strong. The first scene of the second act features the most bizarre sex scene I have seen on a stage — and there’s no nudity involved. The remainder of the second act was less successful and I found the ending weak. Nevertheless, everything else was so enjoyable that these defects barely diminished my pleasure. Walt Spangler’s revolving set captures the look of a grand apartment that had seen better days. Alexis Forte’s costumes suit their characters well. Austin Pendelton’s direction is assured. If you enjoyed “The Motherf**ker with The Hat,” you will love this one; if you didn’t, you probably won’t. Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes including intermission.