http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2008/04/23/time_off/entertainment_news/doc480f82b271d59611006872.txt
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Humor in Misery
In her adaptation of Chekhov's `The Seagull,' Emily Mann is determined to get to the laughs.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008 2:52 PM EDT
By Susan Van Dongen
Morena Baccarin from Stargate: The Ark of Truth
ARGUMENTS, anger, adultery, suicide and oblivion are not the usual components of a comedy — or are they? That is how McCarter Theatre Artistic Director Emily Mann describes her new play, A Seagull in the Hamptons. A modern adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull, Ms. Mann removes the corsets from the original characters and takes them to the beach, where they proceed to love and torture each other.
**snippage**
The characters in A Seagull in the Hamptons are recognizable and thoroughly contemporary. There's Nina (Morena Baccarin), a young actress who falls madly in love with Philip (Trigorin in the original), a famous writer and worldly older man. Ms. Tucci's Maria is a narcissistic, older woman — also an actress — who knows her appeal
is fading and times are changing, yet can't exit the stage gracefully. Her son is Alex (Stark Sands), a youthful writer, full of himself but frustrated with his lack of success. He also is resentful of the way he's always been in his mother's shadow, and — rather egotistically — believes the accepted form of theater and acting should go the way of the dodo.
**snippage**
Interestingly, Ms. Baccarin bears a resemblance to the famous Russian actress Vera Komissarzhevskaya, who played Nina in the original production of The Seagull in 1896. Catching her breath after a day's rehearsal, Ms. Baccarin reflects on her Nina, how easily the young woman falls for Philip — who is supposed to be in a committed
relationship with Maria.
"Nina is described as a small-town girl," Ms. Baccarin says. "She's very much in awe of Philip's fame, as she is of Maria's fame, and that means a lot to her in her desire to be famous, to be noticed. She's also really taken by him as a man. She's at a time in her life when she's discovering all those complex feelings. Being with someone her own age is not enough. With Philip, a part of her opens that otherwise would be untapped."
**snippage**
A graduate of the Juilliard School, Ms. Baccarin is best known for her role as Inara on the cult-classic sci-fi TV show Firefly, directed by Joss Whedon, as well as its big-screen extension Serenity. Her theater credits include The Seagull, The Importance of Being Earnest and Love's Labour's Lost. Ms. Baccarin appeared in the film Roger Dodger and held recurring roles on such TV shows as Stargate SG-1 and The O.C.
**snippage**
A Seagull in the Hamptons, a world premiere adaptation of `The Seagull,' written and directed by Emily Mann, will be performed at McCarter Theatre, 91 University Place, Princeton, May 2-June 8. Performances: Tues.-Thurs. 7:30 p.m., Fri. 8 p.m., Sat. 3, 8 p.m., Sun. 2, 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $15-$49. (609) 258-2787; http://www.mccarter.org
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