Anton Chekhov’s Olga, Masha, and Irina return to life as squabbling 21-century siblings in Mina Bloom and Leland Frankel’s absorbing song cycle We Three Sisters, a Method & Madness Theatre Co. gem playing now through Sunday at Thymele Arts.

It’s been a year since Olive (Marnina Schon), Mary (Tova Katz), and Iris (Molly Livingston) bid their Chekhov-biographer father farewell, a year during which each has gone her own way, just one reason why today’s family reunion seems likely to stir up resentments that have quietly smoldered in the twelve months since Daddy coughed out his lungs and died.

Eldest daughter Olive can’t let go of the fact that she and she alone spent the last seven months of their father’s life by his side.

Not only that, but eldest sis is none too pleased to see Mary still flaunting her misery in head-to-toe black or Iris expressing how cursed she feels because not only did Daddy die on her birthday, neither of Olive nor Mary thought to give her a present.

Composer Bloom and lyricist Frankel give Olive, Mary, and Iris plenty to reminisce–and gripe–about, most significantly, which of the three most deserves to inherit their father’s cherished piano.

Along the way, Mary explains in words and music why “Black” is her color of choice. The country-&-western-flavored “Bad Birthday Song” has Iris lamenting the unfortunate timing of her father’s demise. In the haunting “Far Far Away,” the three sisters, like their Chekhov counterparts, express a wish to be anywhere but where they are now. “Second To Last” is Olive’s bluesy complaint about always being the forgotten sister. “Oh My God,” sets Mary to recalling a drunken sexual interlude to the pulsating beat of Bloom’s tambourine.

Aided by some conveniently stored accessories, We Three Sisters soon find themselves possessed by their Chekhov counterparts, and though Olive, Mary, and Iris may never get to their own personal “Moscow,” simply having each other might end up being enough.

Director Margaret Starbuck makes ingenious use of Thymele Arts’ upstairs blackbox space, aided greatly by Anna Mader’s mood-establishing lighting design and by Ysabel Riina’s character-appropriate costumes and clever accessories.

Composer Bloom may not give audiences (in Stephen Sondheim’s words) “a song you can hum, … a song that goes ‘dum dum dum di dum,’” but like Adam Guettel and Michael John LaChiusa, her melodies have their own unique beauty, and Frankel’s incisive, often amusing lyrics fit each sister to a T.

Schon’s ethereal, earthy Olive, Katz’s darkly quirky Mary, and Livingston’s perky, pouty Iris are all three absolutely splendid, both individually and in some of the tightest, most challenging harmonies any contemporary composer can serve up (kudos too to musical director Bloom), with keyboardist Eric Kong and guitarist Marlon Meyerson providing expert accompaniment throughout, and Schon showing off some accomplished violin chops.

Last but not least, it merits mentioning that virtually the entire cast and creative team are recent UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television grads.

We Three Sisters is produced by Annette Bizal, Renée Macdonald, and Will Block. Mader is associate director.

Not only does We Three Sisters make for an absorbing hour of Chekhov through song, it proves a terrific showcase for its two gifted writers and its equally talented cast.

Thymele Arts, 5481 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles. Through December 15. Friday and Saturday at 8:00. Sunday at 2;00.
www.methodandmadnessco.com

–Steven Stanley
December 12, 2019

Tags: Leland Frankel, Los Angeles Theater Review, Method & Madness Theatre Co. Mina Bloom