How
does a modern woman interact with a classic? Even if the actress can throw
herself into the role, can the audience ever see her without adding a modern
sensibility to how she is perceived?
 |
| Collen Corcoran as Anna and the ensemble (Photo by Dave Sarrafian) |
Between
Tolstoy’s Anna and Flaubert’s Emma Bovary (Madame Bovary by Gustave
Flaubert), I was predisposed to find marriage boring. and romance, while
inevitably tragic, to be one way for a woman to express her individuality. Yet,
both novels warn, the lover is not to be trusted, and the good man who waits
for you at home is to be admired even if he would stifle your very essence. Perhaps
Anna and Emma were the precursors to Thelma and Louise, warning women that too
much freedom is a dangerous thing.
A
newly conceived production of Anna at EgoPo Classic Theater company is
helmed by writer/director Brenna Geffers, whose work always provokes me to
reconsider how I view women’s roles on, and thus off, stage. This Anna, played commandingly
by Colleen Corcoran, is strong enough to endure anything but boredom and
betrayal, although she herself is a betrayer. Her husband, Count Alexei Karenin
(Carlo Campbell) is controlling and whining, while her lover Count Alexei
Vronsky (Andrew Carroll) is all youthful charm, baring his body even if he
can’t quite bare his soul.
