By Amanda VanNostrand.
“It goes without saying that you could not vanquish the ignorant masses around you; little by little, as you advance in life, you will be obliged to yield and to be swallowed up in the crowd of a hundred thousand human beings; life will stifle you, but you will all the same not have disappeared without having exerted an influence; of women like you, there will be after you perhaps only six, then twelve, and so on, until finally you will become the majority. In two or three hundred years life on earth will be unimaginably beautiful, amazing, astonishing. Man has need of that life and if it doesn’t yet exist, he must sense it, wait for it and dream of it, prepare to receive it, and to achieve that he must see and know more than our grandfathers and fathers saw or knew.” ― Anton Chekhov, The Three Sisters
Curio Theatre Company is currently presenting Three Sisters by Rash Dash, After Chekhov, between now and March 2nd. At once comedic and slightly depressing in its accurate portrayal of life as a 20/30-something year-old woman in today’s time, this eccentric show is sure to make any viewer’s 80 minutes of time worthwhile. A quirky story told through lovely scenery (until it is ripped down by its own actors), brilliant talent, meaningful music, and hilarious costumes (and costume changes), Three Sisters is both odd and delightful. Bringing various messages according to the experiences and viewpoints of individuals within the attending audience, this show will connect with and enhance all who come to see it.
Three Sisters examines three women – three sisters, to be precise (and obvious) – and their relationship with one-another as well as their individual lives in an ever-changing world. As the years have passed them by, the women have come to the point on the stage where they are figuring out who they are, examining the flaws in their lives, and working their way through it all together. Olga is played by Colleen Hughes, and she is desperate to get out of the city but seems to feel as if it is closing in on her. For financial reasons among others, she has excuses for remaining where she is and instead controls whatever aspects within the household she can. Rachel Gluck plays the role of Masha, and as she gets over her ex-boyfriend, she longs most for sex and romance to be present once again. Unashamedly sensual and honest, this beautiful character longs for a family and feels that the picturesque vision she has for herself is too far off while she is doing little to find it. Irina is the third sister, played by Tessa Kuhn. Ever the optimist, her sweet and naïve disposition puts her in a place where she feels her words are almost meaningless. Wishing that she could be heard and valued for what she has to say, she examines who she wants to grow to be. As these three express their woes and coexist under the same roof, they break into songs, don various clothes to express their moods, and have hilarious conversations that one could assume are realistic amongst sisters.
This production of Three Sisters (one of three in Philadelphia right now!) holds a level of talent within its actors to rival the amount of quirk within the show. Hughes, Gluck, and Kuhn do a phenomenal job of bringing the Three Sisters to life and have an amazing energy as this trio of women. The set they perform on is eccentric as well. A large moon in the back and trees on either side bring about an image of being in a forest, fairy tale style. And this feminist, modern day fairy tale may not bring the Princess to her Prince Charming, but the royal women in this show definitely make it a fun night. (Maybe even more fun being that the Prince is finally excluded altogether!) Three Sisters is not your average show, but its idiosyncrasies and the messages they encompass will make you glad you witnessed such a tale.