At the outset, let's say that the local version (transported to Ilocos and set in the 70s during martial law) is superbly acted by the title rolers. It captures the spirit of sadness and longing of the original play but we feel that the angst in Chekhov 's genteel characters is foreign to most Filipinos who won't hesitate to uproot themselves to migrate or work abroad. Maybe they shouldn't have adapted the situations locally anymore and just presented it as still set in Russia two centuries ago.
In the play, most of the action takes place off stage, like a big fire and a duel that kills one of the characters. The major action actually happens as internal conflicts within the characters. To convey this, Director Loy Arcenas should have made his staging more stylized than it already is. But he's lucky to have actresses that make their characters come so effectively alive on stage. The play's most colorful character is Masha, who now becomes Maria Josefina, with the irrepressible Mailes Kanapi (we love her in "Mangatyanan" and "Heavenly Touch") stealing all her scenes as the epitome of bored existence. Her sense of frustration with her life (despite having a loyal husband) is written all over her, her portrayal swinging from hilarious (her comic timing is perfect) to genuinely tragic. Stanislavsky will be pleased.
Dolly Gutierrez is also terrific as the eldest sister, an oldmaid schoolteacher who's always having a headache or too tired, incapable of doing anything to stop their family's slow disintegration. Angeli Bayani is equally memorable as the youngest sister: hopeful at the start and always dreaming of going to Manila, dejected in the end as she accepts her lot of never being able to escape the confines of their rustic existence. Another scene-stealer is Che Ramos as Erlinda, the Visayan sister in law who slowly intrudes in the lives of the sisters and drives them out of their house. But we're afraid the male thespians are not as impressive as the females. For one, Mario O'Hara gives an over-the-top performance as the nihilistic doctor who was once married to their mom (Ivan Chebutikin in the original play) and is now quite content reading the newspaper. Dennis Marasigan is also not that sympathetic as the cuckolded husband and fails to register the pitiable sense of loss that should permeate all the characters.
