New York City Broadway Theater Guide

The Seagull

Broadway Drama

Previews  September 16 2008
Opened  October 2 2008
Closed  December 21 2008

Run  18 previews & 94 performances

Producers

Sonia Friedman Productions, Bob Boyett, Robert G Bartner, Dede Harris, Norman Tulchin, et al

Creative

Anton Chekhov author
Christopher Hampton new version
Ian Rickson director

Hildegard Bechtler costume design & scenic design
Peter Mumford lighting design
Ian Dickinson sound design

Synopsis

No matter how tragic the outcomes Anton Chekhov referred to most of his plays as "comedies." He is basically correct, though probably more correct if the reference was to the "comedy of life"

In many ways Seagull resembles what to later American audiences would come to be seen as staples of British theater: the Country Weekend Farce and the Drawing Room Comedy

Seagull opens at a country estate. The older actress arrives with her lover the writer. Her director son presents a play featuring the young actress he desires; she is thoroughly entranced by the writer. The estate manager's daughter is in love with the director, even as she is being pursued by the school teacher. All the while the estate owner is vying for the older actresses affections

The drawing room scene is played two years later. After a fling with the budding actress the writer has returned to the older actress. The school teacher has married the estate manger's daughter. The director almost claims the affections of the now disillusioned young actress

The "comedy" almost averts being a tragedy

Broadway Show History

The Internet Broadway Database credits the first "Broadway" run of The Seagull to a Washington Square Players production that played the Bandbox Theater (some place on 57th Street), in May 1916. Helen Westley played Madame Arkadina; Roland Young, Konstantin; Ralph Roeder, Trigorin; and Mary Morris appeared as Nina

Dorothy Sands played Madame Arkadina in a 31-performance engagement at the Comedy Theater, April to May 1929. There were 63 performances at the Civic Repertory Theater (14th Street & 6th Avenue, still close enough to "Broadway" at that time), in the Fall of that same year. That was quickly followed by five performances by the Leo Bulgakov Theatre Associates at the Waldorf Theater (W 50th Street), in February, 1930

Now we get to what we know as Broadway today. With Lynn Fontanne as Madame Arkadina and Alfred Lunt as Trigorin, A Theatre Guild production of Seagull opened at the Shubert Theater on March 28, 1938. Uta Hagen played Nina and Sydney Greenstreet portrayed Sorin. It closed sometime that May after 41 performances

In 1964, the legendary Eva Le Gallienne translated, directed and took to the boards as Madame Arkadina opposite Denholm Elliott's Trigorin in a 16-performance engagement at the Belasco Theater

Tony Randall's National Actors Theater staged a star-studded production in Fall 1992. Opening on November 29th at the Lyceum Thearter, the show headlined Tyne Daly as Madame Arkadina and Jon Voight as Trigorin. Danny Burstein was on the boards as Yakov, Ethan Hawke as Konstantin, with Laura Linney playing Nina and Tony Roberts as Dr Dorn. The limited run played 49 performances

And It Adds Up To

1916 Bandbox Theater: Unknown
1929 Comedy Theater: 31
1929 Civic Rep: 63
1930 Waldorf Theater: 5
1938 Shubert Theater: 41
1964 Belasco Theater: 16
1992 Lyceum Theater: 49
2008 Walter Kerr Theater: 94

So, somewhere more than 300 performances over eight productions spread over 92 years