Review: Cate Blanchett as an embodiment of the “Russian soul” in “The Present”

The audience streams down the middle section of a nearly empty mezzanine on a Wednesday matinee performance of “The Present” which is finishing its run on Broadway. Everybody is excited to see Cate Blanchett playing Anna when the curtain goes up, and then they struggle through a long exposition, where more than a dozen guests are introduced as they arrive to Anna’s 40^th Birthday party that takes place in their family’s summer cottage.    

photo by Joan Marcus

Extravagant in her behavior and widow of a general, Anna is bored out of her mind and eager to explore the deepest vortex of human nature, as long as it entertains her. The gates of her estate should have a warning sign “The party contains gun fire, drunken dancing on the verge of an orgy, and every possible bad decision your buzzed mind can make”. But it doesn’t and it is even better to receive these “presents” as a surprise.

Cate Blanchett plays Anna as playful and fearless. She does silly hops across the stage in one scene and blasts at the ceiling out of the shotgun in another. Dressed by the costume designer, Alice Bubidge, as though for a Vogue editorial, Blanchett takes center stage and overshadows Richard Roxburgh, playing her on again off again love interest, Mikhail Platonov.       

The unfinished play, known as “Platonov” (or “Fatherlessness”), is the first play written by an 18 year old Anton Chekhov in 1897. It was first discovered and published in 1923 and has since had a few rewrites. The current adaptation is made by Andrew Upton (Cate Blanchett’s husband) and takes place in mid-90s Russia. After separation of the USSR in 1991, Russians are struggling to find a new class and cultural identity. Western rock music, 7up soda and Adidas jackets surely liven up the party, but they can’t make the eternal sadness go away.

Upton is very close to capturing this mythical Russian spirit, where women are so brave and powerful that they can “stop a horse mid-gallop” and men are constantly indulging in vodka and soul searching. Blanchett and Roxburgh make a perfect couple that way. Unfortunately, the rest of the play falls short and feels confused.

The scenic design, by Alice Babidge, matches the state of confusion of the play by mostly looking like the sets from different shows as though most of them came unfinished from the shop. The minimalistic approach to three of four sets is forgotten in the final act, where movie-rain is pouring outside of the realistically furnished living room.

Long story short, the Broadway debut of Cate Blanchett confirmed the brilliance of the actress’s talent. It is unfortunate that the setting for this brilliance is rather shabby. 

“The Present”, directed by John Crowley and runs through March 19^th in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre at 243 West 47^th street.