The simmering Russian melancholy in The Snow Geese is something like Chekhov might have written, but this play is not by Chekhov. The Snow Geese, a Manhattan Theatre Club world premiere production, is by playwright Sharr White, acclaimed for The Other Place. While stylishly directed by Daniel Sullivan, the troubled Gaesling family lacks the depth to garner much sympathy.
In 1917, like geese that soar off every autumn, the whole world has taken flight, and the Gaesling family is trying to make sense of the chaos of change. Youthful matriarch Elizabeth Gaesling (Mary-Louise Parker) is mourning her husband's (Christopher Innvar) sudden death two months before. She is used to living a charmed life, and her way of dealing with problems is turning the other cheek and avoiding unpleasantness. She fantasizes that their previous luxurious life will continue once this pesky war is over, although she somewhat resents that she must now rely on just one servant, Viktoria (Jessica Love).
Elizabeth has brought together her family for one last hunt at their comfortable Upstate New York lodge. With her is Clarissa (Victoria Clark), Elizabeth's fiercely religious sister and her German-born husband, Max (Danny Burstein), forced to close his medical practice in Syracuse home because of raging anti-German hostility. Also present are Elizabeth's two sons, Duncan and Arnold. The eldest and adored, Duncan (Evan Jonigkeit), like his mother, lives in a fantasy world. He is about to march off to war but refuses to acknowledge the actual perils facing him, boasting that his unit is the elite 7th Regiment made up of New York's upper crust. "Everybody who's anybody is going."
Elizabeth dotes on Duncan but shows little interest in her younger son, Arnold, played by Brian Cross. In the play's strongest moment, Arnold proves to everyone that his late father's flimsy money maneuvers have left them in dept, but he has a plan to revitalize the financial footing if he can force Elizabeth to face what must be done.
Mary-Louise Parker (Proof) is the star draw, although the play is driven by the ensemble with some commendable performances. Parker plays Elizabeth with a youthful delicacy that emphasizes her flighty predilection for dreaming while erasing any semblance of gravitas as the family matron.
Victoria Clark is a stern and sturdy household backup as Clarissa. You have to wonder what the two sisters' relationship was like as children.
As Max, Burstein is commanding when he steps forth to point out the horrors in Europe. The Ukrainian maid, Viktoria, nuanced with intriguing mystery by Love, has also suffered the harsh realities of war and now is quietly astounded by this absurd family. Her disgust is evident when the hunt brings in far too many birds than this family can ever use.
The two brothers are distinct, often hostile personalities. Portraying flamboyant Duncan, Jonigkeit delights his mother but fails to engage the audience. Cross, persuasive in his Broadway debut, displays Arnold's calmer and more practical personality that does not keep him from chiding his brother's flightiness.
A promising situation rests at the core of this story that balances family dynamics in a volatile wartime era (which is always fodder for drama – witness the popularity of “Downton Abbey”). Sharr White's book, however, is talky, lacking wit and incisiveness as the tiresome family bickers and bores. The first act leaves you scratching your head. While things come together in Act II, Snow Geese does not fulfill its potential and invokes little empathy.
Overshadowing the troubled characters are John Lee Beatty's beautiful set designs with imaginative lighting by Japhy Weideman and Rocco DiSanti's evocative projections. Also notable are Jane Greenwood's costumes, filmy widow's weeds and black silk gowns for Elizabeth, Duncan's eccentric accessories and a distinctive look for all the characters and the period.
