‘Uncle Vanya’ Visits Throughline Theatre; OpenStreets PGH (Sun., 6/25/23)

UNCLE VANYA (drama) by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Annie Baker. Throughline Theatre Co., June 19-July 1. 

1) Among the classic modern playwrights––that is, those mostly eastern Europeans like Ibsen, Strindberg, and Chekhov––who turned heart-wrenching melodrama into subtle word plays, Chekhov is the most comedic of the lot. Uncle Vanya has played for 125 years on thousands of stages, in dozens of films, and, in turn, adapted in language and context to satisfy ever more modern audiences. Uncle Vanya is essentially about love and loyalty, but the play, written in 1899, seems to have foreshadowed the Bolshevik Revolution twenty years later. The action begins when the widower-owner of a country estate, managed by his brother-in-law Uncle Vanya, returns with his new, young bride to inform its long-attentive caretakers that he plans to sell the property. Old world values are pitted against modern capitalism; watch out!

It’s a classic confrontation that Throughline Theatre Company is staging in Carnegie through July 1. And, judging from the company’s poster for this production, Director J. Cody Spellman has taken an adaptation by Annie Baker set in midwest America, replete with cowboys and country music. Throughline has been fulfilling the souls of Pittsburgh theater-goers for more than a decade. This adaptation also promises to please. Throughline Theatre Company performs at Carnegie Stage. 2 p.m. 25 West Main Street, in Carnegie. (C.P.O.)

OpenStreetsPGH — Various dates and locations.

The Strip District was crowded with bikes, walkers, and shoppers during OpenStreetsPGH. (photo: Heather McCracken)

2) OpenStreetsPGH is a fun event during which neighborhood streets are closed to auto traffic in certain parts of the city, so people can roll on through, whether biking, walking, or skateboarding. There are plenty of activities along the way as well. Organized by the nonprofit BikePGH, the OpenStreetsPGH events are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on three Sundays this year: May 28, June 25, and July 30. Different routes are explored on each date. For more info, check out the OpenStreetsPGH website. (R.H.)

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