‘Life Sucks’ smartly reworks Chekhov classic in Janus Theatre production on Elgin stage

In celebration of its 26th anniversary, Janus Theatre Company continues its “Call to Adventure” season with an Elgin production of “Life Sucks,” “sort of adapted” from Anton Chekhov’s classic “Uncle Vanya.” Playwright Aaron Posner calls his redo “a new riff on an old melody”; it is an invigorating, satirical comedy focused on middle age, life, love and hope. And Posner has updated it to current times with flashbacks.

A group of seven old friends, ex-lovers and lifelong enemies have gathered at a family’s country estate. Vanya lives there with his niece, Sonia; he has slaved away for years, maintaining the estate. His pedantic brother, The Professor, is visiting with his much younger wife, Ella, and, of course, there are complications.

Vanya is infatuated with Ella; The Professor wants to sell the estate; niece Sonia is in love with Dr. Aster, who also is in love with Ella. Do I need to go on? According to Posner, there are “few miseries loftier than interactions with other people. More specifically, your family and friends.”

And I understand why producer and Artistic Director Sean Hargadon cast these actors – all seven are perfect in their roles. They inhabit their characters.

The show begins as the players enter to remind you about cellphones, the unwrapping of loud candy and the themes of love, longing and loss, before segueing into The Professor informing the audience that the play “transpires into four succinct acts – just like Chekhov’s original, superior play.”

Hargadon and stage manager Tara Morrison present effective staging and pacing on an intimate set designed by Hargadon and propped by the cast: from National Geographic copies on the Persian-rugged floors to leather chairs, a chessboard and much-used globe bar.

There are several glorious scenes that showcase the chemistry between characters and lend insight into their personalities:

Pickles’ (Jennifer Reeves Wilson) revelation about love; The Professor’s (Ken Kaden) devastating monologue about aging; Dr. Aster and Sonia’s (Sam Fain and Tiffany Jasinski) exchanges about their lives and unrequited love;

Babs and Vanya’s (Marge Uhlarik-Boller and Aaron Hoge) gratitude and zany Oscar recognition; Vanya’s the joy is gone speech; Ella (Heidi Swarthout) and Sonia’s stepmother and friendship discussion; and all the characters’ interaction with Vanya. These scenes truly illustrate how in Posner and Chekhov’s plays there are no winners, only survivors.

Hoge is a marvelous Vanya. He is handsome, arrogant, and makes his character believably depressed, cranky, confident and in love with his brother’s wife, Ella. He wants to live blissfully in the present, but the joy is gone. “I have done everything wrong – everything that matters, that’s real.” Hoge is a sympathetic character actor who makes you think dreams never come true. He is superb.

Fain portrays Dr. Aster, Vanya’s best friend, who lives “950 feet away.” He’s an idealist, and is also in love with Ella. Aster has a drinking problem, and works too hard. A charmer and a savvy actor, Fain makes you believe his character carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Sonia as played by Jasinski is unhappy, but her loveliness shines through. Sonia’s anguish over her unrequited love for Dr. Aster and the situation with Ella, her stepmother, is evident and well-played. Jasinski is a fresh and engaging actress.

Swarthout as Ella is both seductive and incandescent. Her character is tired of everyone falling in love with her. Swarthout is vivid and emotional, reminiscent of an ocelot with her movements. She is a luminous and irresistible actress.

Kaden portrays The Professor as frustrated, selfish, pompous and brilliant. He makes you believe he is “terminal – suffering from O-L-D.” The Professor, who left his first marriage when Sonia was 7, is married to Ella, his third wife, and can’t honestly understand why she is still with him. Kaden is a distinguished and committed actor.

Uhlarik-Boller is a delightful Babs, the pacifier of the household, an aunt to Sonia. Her Babs is warm, empathetic, witty, possessing the wisdom to cease judgment of others. Uhlarik-Boller brings out the dry humor of the situation, and injects life into her ceramic artist character who travels a lot. Uhlarik-Boller also has a great encompassing voice; she is an ingenious actress.

Reeves Wilson is an engaging Pickles. She is a daffy relation, stepsister to Vanya, with a kind heart who lost the love of her life 17 years ago and still hasn’t recovered. Pickles is loyal, makes crafty things, and Wilson is a credible, engrossing, fun and poignant actress.

Under Hargadon’s direction, the entire ensemble illustrates dramatic instinct and adroitness with Posner’s words. The characters break the fourth wall repeatedly to allow performers to address the audience directly. One of the best is Ella’s (Swarthout) three-parter morality question. Swarthout says, “The audience is really the eighth cast member.”

Hargadon says, “What works in a theater is when you get down to the essentials – just actors with an audience and a story to tell.” And these seven actors do it exceptionally well!

(The play has adult content and language. Air conditioning is turned off at start of show to better hear the actors.)

• Regina Belt-Daniels loves the world of theater. Performing in shows since the first grade, she has worked in many capacities from actress to director with RCLPC, TownSquare Players, Woodstock Musical Theatre, McHenry County College’s Black Box Theatre, Elgin Theatre Company, Independent Players and Raue Center For The Arts. This is her 10th year of writing theater reviews for Shaw Local News Network.

IF YOU GO

• WHAT: “Life Sucks” presented by Janus Theatre Company

• WHERE: Elgin Art Showcase, 164 Division St., eighth floor, Elgin

• WHEN: Through Aug. 25

• COST: $20

• INFORMATION: Tickets at Eventbrite, tinyurl.com/4c599kap