It was a return to Chekhov over the weekend as I watched Vanya of 42nd Street , an interesting adaptation of the play by David Mamet filtered through the lens of Louis Malle. I had seen it years ago and had remembered it fondly. It was nice not to be disappointed the second time around. The production has its flaws. I think it was a little too melodramatic at times but Wallace Shawn is good as Vanya. Larry Pines is excellent as Astrov and Julianne Moore simply divine as Yelena. The supporting cast is filled out nicely with George Gaynes providing the necessary aplomb to the role of Serybryakov. There is a certain amount of overlap in Chekhov's plays but it was interesting to see that Uncle Vanya is an adaptation of an earlier play, The Wood Demon , with several of the same characters and much of the same dialog. Chekhov was never satisfied with his earlier play and chose to rework it. He had fallen under the spell of Tolstoyism during the...