Vanya on 42nd Street
Encyclopedia
Vanya on 42nd Street is a 1994
film
by Louis Malle
and Andre Gregory
. The film is an intimate, interpretive performance of the play Uncle Vanya
by Anton Chekhov
based on the English
translation by David Mamet
. The film starred Wallace Shawn
and Julianne Moore
.
and a group of actors came together on a voluntary basis in order to better understand Chekhov's work through performance workshops. Staged and filmed entirely within the vacant shell of the then-abandoned Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street in New York City
, they enacted the play rehearsal style on a bare stage with the actors in street clothes. Free from any commercial demands, their performances were for an invited audience only. Gregory and Malle decided to document the play as they had developed it. The film was the result of the collaborative process.
in New York City. The filmed version was shot entirely within the New Amsterdam Theatre
, also on 42nd Street. Built in 1903, the theatre was the original home of the Ziegfeld Follies
, a historical tidbit mentioned in the film during some pre-show banter. In the late 1930s, the New Amersterdam Theatre was transformed into a movie palace. The theatre remained a movie palace until "temporarily" closed in 1982.
At the time Vanya on 42nd Street was filmed, the theatre had been abandoned for over ten years and was in a state of severe disrepair. Rats had chewed through much of the stage rigging, thus making the stage unusable. For the film production, some rows of seats were removed and a small platform was built for the cast and film crew. Shortly after the production of Vanya, the New Amsterdam was leased to The Walt Disney Company
. Disney restored the theatre to its grand original design and reopened it in 1997.
1994 in film
1994 was a significant year in film.The top grosser worldwide was The Lion King, which to date stands as the highest-grossing traditionally-animated film of all time...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
by Louis Malle
Louis Malle
Louis Malle was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. He worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. His films include Ascenseur pour l'échafaud , Atlantic City , and Au revoir, les enfants .- Early years in France :Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries,...
and Andre Gregory
Andre Gregory
Andre William Gregory is an American theatre director, writer and actor.Gregory studied at Harvard University.During the 1960s and 1970s, Gregory directed a number of avant-garde productions developed through ensemble collaboration, the most famous of which was Alice In Wonderland , based on Lewis...
. The film is an intimate, interpretive performance of the play Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
by Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
based on the English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
translation by David Mamet
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross . He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow . As a screenwriter, he received Oscar...
. The film starred Wallace Shawn
Wallace Shawn
Wallace Michael Shawn , sometimes credited as Wally Shawn, is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, author, voice artist, and intellectual. His best-known film roles include Wally Shawn in My Dinner with Andre , Vizzini in The Princess Bride , and debate teacher Mr...
and Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore
Julianne Moore is an American actress and a children's book author. Throughout her career, she has been nominated for four Oscars, six Golden Globes, three BAFTAs and nine Screen Actors Guild Awards....
.
Production
Over the course of three years, director Andre GregoryAndre Gregory
Andre William Gregory is an American theatre director, writer and actor.Gregory studied at Harvard University.During the 1960s and 1970s, Gregory directed a number of avant-garde productions developed through ensemble collaboration, the most famous of which was Alice In Wonderland , based on Lewis...
and a group of actors came together on a voluntary basis in order to better understand Chekhov's work through performance workshops. Staged and filmed entirely within the vacant shell of the then-abandoned Amsterdam Theater on 42nd Street in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, they enacted the play rehearsal style on a bare stage with the actors in street clothes. Free from any commercial demands, their performances were for an invited audience only. Gregory and Malle decided to document the play as they had developed it. The film was the result of the collaborative process.
Location
Workshop rehearsals with Gregory and the cast originally took place at the abandoned Victory Theatre on 42nd Street42nd Street (Manhattan)
42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, known for its theaters, especially near the intersection with Broadway at Times Square. It is also the name of the region of the theater district near that intersection...
in New York City. The filmed version was shot entirely within the New Amsterdam Theatre
New Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City, off of Times Square...
, also on 42nd Street. Built in 1903, the theatre was the original home of the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
, a historical tidbit mentioned in the film during some pre-show banter. In the late 1930s, the New Amersterdam Theatre was transformed into a movie palace. The theatre remained a movie palace until "temporarily" closed in 1982.
At the time Vanya on 42nd Street was filmed, the theatre had been abandoned for over ten years and was in a state of severe disrepair. Rats had chewed through much of the stage rigging, thus making the stage unusable. For the film production, some rows of seats were removed and a small platform was built for the cast and film crew. Shortly after the production of Vanya, the New Amsterdam was leased to The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
. Disney restored the theatre to its grand original design and reopened it in 1997.
Cast and crew
- Shawn, Gregory, and Malle had previously collaboratorated on the 1981 film My Dinner with AndreMy Dinner with AndreMy Dinner with Andre is a 1981 film starring Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn, written by Gregory and Shawn, and directed by Louis Malle.-Plot:...
. - The film would be the last of Malle's career.
- Julianne Moore, whose film career had recently been gaining notice from a critically acclaimed role in Short CutsShort CutsShort Cuts is a 1993 American drama film directed by Robert Altman. Filmed from a screenplay by Robert Altman and Frank Barhydt, it is inspired by nine short stories and a poem by Raymond Carver...
, was the actor predominantly featured in the advertising campaign for the film. The campaign didn't highlight the ensemble nature of the production, which led some confused movie-goers to think the film was about a woman named Vanya. - Vanya on 42nd Street also features several actors known to the New York stage, including George GaynesGeorge GaynesGeorge Gaynes is a Finnish-born American actor of stage, screen and television.He may be best known as Commandant Eric Lassard in the Police Academy series, and to television fans as the curmudgeonly Henry Warnimont on the NBC series Punky Brewster, in which his wife, Allyn Ann McLerie,...
(also recognizable from the hit TV series Punky BrewsterPunky BrewsterPunky Brewster was an American sitcom about a girl named Punky Brewster being raised by her foster parent...
), Larry PineLarry PineLarry Pine is an American film, television and theatre actor.He began his professional acting career Off-Broadway, then appeared in Cyrano de Bergerac at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in 1968 as Fop...
, Phoebe BrandPhoebe BrandPhoebe Brand was an American actress, who was blacklisted along with her husband, Morris Carnovsky, in the McCarthy era.-Early life:...
, Brooke SmithBrooke Smith (actress)Brooke Smith is an American actress. She is best known for her role on the TV show Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Erica Hahn and for her role as Catherine Martin in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs.- Early life :...
, and Lynn CohenLynn CohenLynn Cohen is an American actress. She is probably best known for playing Magda in the HBO series Sex and the City and the 2008 film of the same name. She has also played Judge Elizabeth Mizener several times on Law & Order, and has appeared in the movies Munich, Vanya on 42nd Street, Synecdoche,...
.