Overview
- The show is now running at The Public Theater’s LuEsther Hall in an encore engagement through May 3 co-produced with the Mart Foundation.
- Created and directed by Alexander Molochnikov with a script by Eli Rarey, the piece recasts The Seagull as a backstage tale of censorship, exile, and creative compromise.
- The plot follows Kon, played by Eric Tabach, who is pressed in Moscow to support Russia’s war in Ukraine and flees to New York to pursue his version of Chekhov.
- Reviews praise resourceful stagecraft that evokes Moscow and Brooklyn with curtains, bold lighting, and immersive sound, crediting designer Alexander Shishkin, costume artist Kristina K, lighting designers Brian H. Scott and Sam Saliba, and sound designer Diego Las Heras.
- Critics cite uneven choices, singling out intrusive songs by Noize MC and a split focus between acts, while noting the show’s sharp link between Russian censorship and American commercial gatekeeping.