Bonjour,
“Uncle Vanya” is now running and doing great with both audiences and critics. If you haven’t yet made your reservations, do it today. Tickets are going fast!
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Stage Raw (F. Kathleen Foley): Top Ten! Recommended!
“A worthy addition… captures the essence of Chekhov’s play… with subtly contemporaneous language. Director Frédérique Michel… boldly addresses LaBute’s offering in a smooth, almost dancerly staging… This production ultimately finds the pulse of Chekhov’s work… ‘Vanya’ feels less like a museum piece than a living argument… an unsettling and tragic realization.”
StageScene LA (Steven Stanley) “WOW!”
“Neil LaBute gives Anton Chekhov’s ‘Uncle Vanya’ a more contemporary-sounding tweak… and the result is a Vanya that even Chekhov ‘non-fans’… can enjoy…. Director Frédérique Michel and her cast know that to perform Chekhov without humor is to disregard the playwright’s intentions…. Sparkling performances, in particular Dunn’s quicksilver star turn in the title role…. thanks to Neil LaBute and City Garage, I’m inching closer to being a bona fide fan.”
“The ensemble’s commitment is evident from the start… Every exchange feels lived-in and responsive. Dunn’s Vanya is layered and vulnerable… The chemistry among the cast is cohesive and consistent… Director Michel… approaches the production with a clear understanding… Her pacing and blocking give the piece a distinct rhythm. Beats land with precision, and scenes move with an almost musical fluidity… The world of “Uncle Vanya” feels immersive and fully realized….This is a show worth seeing and one I would revisit without hesitation.”
The World Through Night Colored Glasses (David MacDowell Blue)
“City Garage’s current production of Uncle Vanya offers what I most desire in [an adaptation]–a reimagining that feel utterly true yet re-sets how I perceive the play. What a gift, and I thank everyone involved from the depths of my heart!….All this works because the cast, directed by Frederique Michel (honestly this is one of the best things I’ve seen from her) without exception bring all these characters to surprising, bittersweet life.”
“Tragic truths in the spirit of the painfully human and comic…This City Garage production is something to appreciate.”
“Uncle Vanya” by Anton Chekhov
Adapted by Neil LaBute
February 20 – March 29, 2026
Acclaimed playwright Neil LaBute brings a fresh edge to Chekhov’s tragicomic masterpiece about disillusionment, unrequited love, frustrated passion, and the search for meaning. Set in a rural estate at the end of the 19th century, the lives of Vanya, his niece Sonya, the retired Professor Serebryakov and his young wife Yelena intertwine, leading to complex jealousies, romantic rivalries, and emotional breakdowns as they confront their wasted lives and failed dreams. Vanya and Astrov, a local doctor, both fall in love with Yelena, a spoiled, self-centered beauty; Sonya pines hopelessly for the doctor; while the oblivious Professor disrupts everyone’s lives with his egotistical demands. This classic play, rendered here by LaBute in a new, contemporary version, uses deceptively ordinary dialogue to reveal deep human frailties and a poignant, yet hopeful message about how we find the strength to endure life’s struggles.
Q&A, Sunday, March 15, 2026
There will be an informal Q&A with cast and crew after the 4:00pm show, Sunday, March 15th.
Youth Program at City Garage: March 30 – April 3rd, 11:00am – 3:00pm; performance 3:00pm Saturday 4th 3:00pm
Jaime Arze, Artistic Director of the renowned Big Sur StageKids will be initiating a new youth theatre program at City Garage for spring break. This pilot program is offered to any middle school student (ages 10-14) interested in getting on stage and creating a story. For students with theater experience, this is a great way to engage in a new form of stage work. For students with no theater experience, this is a great way to get on stage immediately. For parents and guardians, this is an innovative approach to theater arts that has been active and fruitful up and down the California Central Coast since 1998. For more information and to sign up.
The Writers Workshop at City Garage – Spring Session starts March 14th
Are you working on a play and want to hear your words onstage?Join us in the Writers Workshop at City Garage. In-person sessions at City Garage are held twice a year, in the Spring and Fall. Each session runs for eight weeks, meeting every Saturday from 10:00am to Noon (some exceptions for holidays). At the end of the eight weeks the writers present their works-in-progress to an invited audience. Private, one-on-one sessions, are available year-round.
Spring Session: March 14 – May 9, 2026 (No workshop 4.4 for Easter weekend)
Here’s the link for more information and to sign up. Places are limited.
See you at the theatre!
Frédérique
