Stage Review - Uncle Vanya (Saltfire Theatre)

Stage Review - Uncle Vanya
Presented By: Saltfire Theatre - Port Townsend, WA
Show Run: November 07 - November 23, 2025
Date Reviewed: Friday, November 14, 2025
Run Time: 2 Hours, 45 Minutes (inclusive of a 15-minute intermission)
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman

Few plays capture the ache of unrealized life quite like Uncle Vanya, and Annie Baker’s quietly piercing adaptation—built from Margarita Shalina’s literal translation—has become the modern standard for its intimacy, emotional clarity, and deep respect for Chekhov’s original rhythms. Saltfire Theatre leans into that spirit with a production directed by Ki Gottberg that feels lived-in and deeply human, staged inside the Jefferson County Fairgrounds 4H building, where it runs through November 23. Saltfire has always demonstrated an affinity for “site-specific theatre”—choosing venues that enhance the storytelling—and this one heightens the show’s naturalistic undercurrent. The soft sounds of birds chirping, the outdoor ambience, and even the trees lining the interior walls in what represents the veranda of the Serebryakov estate become part of the world of the play, quietly enriching the mood in ways a traditional theatre space simply couldn’t. It’s a setting that reiterates to me why I am so fond of the work that Saltfire creates, proving time and time again that good theatre can be done in any space and any kind of space can be a good theatre.

At its core, Uncle Vanya is the story of a rural estate thrown off balance when its longtime caretaker, Vanya, and his niece Sonya find their routines upended by the arrival of Sonya’s father—the retired and self-absorbed Professor Serebryakov—and his captivating young wife, Yelena. Their presence stirs old resentments and new desires, unraveling the household’s fragile equilibrium as each character confronts the gulf between the life they lead and the life they once imagined. It’s a plot built less on twists than on emotional fault lines, the kind that widen quietly until they can no longer be ignored. And part of what makes this work endure—both timeless and urgently timely—is Chekhov’s deep understanding of the human condition, the way people build their sense of self out of longing, disappointment, and the small sufferings that accumulate over a lifetime. Beneath the interpersonal aches runs his broader commentary on society, politics, and an ever-changing environment, including humanity’s careless impact on the natural world. These themes thread through Baker’s adaptation with remarkable clarity, making the frustrations and hopes of these characters feel as resonant today as when Chekhov first wrote them.

Ki’s direction emphasizes the everydayness of these characters, allowing the ensemble to settle into their silences and contradictions. There’s an unhurried, organic quality to the staging—moments that seem to arise naturally out of the room rather than being placed there, which can be found in things like the subtle movements of the actors, the way they pick up their glass when gliding by a table, or in the way they sit, it all seems so perfectly human. That’s especially true in the interplay between Vanya and Astrov, two men who cling to wit and cynicism as life preservers. Cole Wimpee stands out as his Vanya beautifully laments the passing of time, his growing resentment toward the aging professor, and the collapse of the life he imagined for himself. Cole is simply splendid throughout, reaching into his soul and baring himself to the audience scene after scene, but it’s in Act 2, when he delivers a standout performance, this when the professor proposes selling the estate, and all of Vanya’s long-simmering angst and frustration boil over in an extraordinary, emotionally charged eruption that borders on the unhinged—but always remains grounded in truth.

Judd Farris, as Astrov, plays the doctor as a man spiritually marooned, overworked, and habitually sad, someone who has lost his immediate connection with nature and each other in the world around him. It’s through this character principally that Chekhov provides his feelings on the environment and the human impact on it. The character’s concerns in this regard are especially affecting, particularly in the monologue about forests and humankind’s tendency to destroy the very things that sustain them. Judd is a steadying presence in contrast to Cole’s Vanya, but Astrov is not without his own emotional baggage. His longing for love, for affection, and for connection is palpable, even as he insists he doesn’t believe he’s capable of love, and Judd shines especially in his character’s confession.

Yelena is the real disruptor in the story, and Rosaletta Curry masterfully plays her as a woman burdened by ennui, her boredom almost visible in her posture and stillness—a kind of elegant stagnation. But Rosaletta transforms around the doctor; she becomes a different person entirely, more bashful, a little playful, and genuinely engaged in their conversation, rather than the otherwise emotional detachment from her day to day existence. It’s a lovely contrast, and Rosaletta navigates it with textured nuance, capturing the subtlety of Yelena and her thoughts as they flicker across her face. Her scenes with Genevieve Barlow’s Sonya are soft and wonderfully charged, especially in the way Genevieve lets Sonya’s hopefulness bloom and collapse in real time. Their shared moment discussing love and loneliness lands with heartfelt simplicity, and Genevieve’s delivery carries the quiet devastation of her character’s sad lot.

The ensemble that Ki has assembled is simply excellent top to bottom, filled with talent that could carry any number of other show, and in some cases have. Case in point is Erik Van Beuzekom, who brings an intellectual prickliness and worn-down entitlement to Serebryakov, making the professor’s ailments—gout, rheumatism, self-pity—both irritating and strangely sympathetic. His scenes with Rosaletta include an emotionally charged argument that reveals just how frayed the marriage has become, and Erik’s performance makes it clear just how the professor’s demands on the household have been draining the life from everyone around him. Camille Hildebrandt gives hired hand Yefim a warm sincerity, while Doug Caskey, as family friend Telegin (“Waffles”), leans into the character’s good-natured resilience, and Maude Eisele is a quietly strong presence as Marina, the caretaker who moves gently throughout the space doing the housework. Her posture and calm steadiness bring a subtle grounding to the household that balances the turmoil unfolding around her.

Ki’s dual role as set designer results in a space that is rustic, functional, and intentionally understated, echoing the rural isolation that defines the characters’ lives. The production makes excellent use of its setting, and the natural elements surrounding the building become an unspoken extension of the estate. The set echoes both a separation and steady flow, from veranda to family room to the surrounding woods. The decision to use window frames as the divider between outside and in is a splendid choice. Lighting by Austin Krieg softens the edges of the room, especially in the evening scenes when, in concert with Karen Anderson’s sound, the rainstorm rolls in: blue lighting, thunder, and the sound of rain blend with just the right sound levels to create one of the production’s most immersive moments. The sound design adds small but meaningful layers—ambient rural stillness punctuated by emotional shifts.

Kait Tapia’s props design, highlighted by the samovar located in the veranda to provide tea service to the family and friends, solid and aged furniture, and the perfect number and placement of pieces to support the realism beautifully, while Lilliana Barlow’s costumes root the characters firmly in their world with natural textures and muted tones are just part of a production team that works in sync with Saltfire’s mission to present theatre that is intimate, immediate, and tied to the community in which it’s performed.

Saltfire’s Uncle Vanya is a reminder that Chekhov doesn’t need grandeur to land with full force. The play contains layers of environmental, social, and political commentary, but what makes this production linger is its honesty—the way it sits with longing, regret, hope, and the fragile bonds that tether people to one another. It’s a deeply empathetic staging of the play, anchored by performances that honor the slowness, sorrow, humor, and humanity of the source and this adaptation. Saltfire has crafted a production that feels both timeless and distinctly rooted in place, and in doing so, they’ve delivered a Vanya that resonates long after the final moments fade.

Saltfire Theatre’s production of Uncle Vanya runs on stage at the Jefferson County Fair 4-H Building in Port Townsend through November 23. For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://saltfiretheatre.org/index.html.

Photo credit: Richard Sloane