The Seagull by Anton Chekhov

This is why we go to the theater—a skilled cast in a marvelous production of a great play. Chekhov’s tale of love, jealousy, the nature of art and theater deserves the title masterpiece, and the Jeune Lune company does its usual imaginative job of interpreting the classic. As the characters weave among the birch trees of Dominique Serrand’s striking set, they knit and then unravel relationships between them. Barbra Berlovitz as the aging actress Irina, is the center of the work both philosophically and physically. Her magnificently nuanced performance—particularly as she demonstrates the art of acting by her reading of the same line over and over—is both the comic and artistic highlight. Add the luminous Sarah Agnew as the young actress Nina and Natalie Moore’s boisterous Masha, both of whose hopes of love are dashed by Irina’s machinations, and you have an evening far more full of genuine humanity than you’ll ever find on reality TV. Jeune Lune, 105 N. 1st St., (612) 332-3968, www.jeunelune.org