Walking into 21ten Theatre for the Feb. 21 performance of Chekhov! 3 Farces, the audience was treated to a series of Looney Tunes projected on a screen. And why not? After enduring an onslaught of unimaginable political awfulness for more than a month, turning to Bugs Bunny for a laugh or two might be the most sensible thing to do.

The cartoons, though, serve a more specific purpose for this production, which stars Štěpán Šimek, Michael O’Connell, Sammy Rat Rios and Dylan Hankins: The goofy animated classics set the mood for the extravagantly entertaining antics of these farces, which include The Bear and The Proposal, directed by Šimek, and The Ravages of Tobacco, directed by O’Connell.

Welcome to a world of broad, onstage humor where chairs are broken, fits are thrown, and eyes and Rs are cartoonishly rolled. Aside from Chekhov’s comedic characters and Šimek’s fresh translations of his Russian words, one of the chief joys of the show is that the cast appear to be having the time of their lives, especially Rat Rios, whose full-throttle talents are ideal for this bacchanal of artistically crafted chaos.

The show begins with The Bear, in which Rat Rios plays Popova, a refined widow who sets out to prove her moral superiority to her lousy late husband by faithfully mourning him in complete seclusion for the rest of her life. Amanda Cardwell-Aiken’s costume coordination compounds the visual comedy, with Rat Rios encased in yards of late-Victorian black velvet, ruffles and lace. On the page, Popova is unrepentantly spirited for a female character created in the 1800s. Onstage, though, Rat Rios’s rip-roaring voice and dynamic gestures and expressions are so fiery, she practically has sparks shooting from her mouth, fingertips and eyes … even when the latter are partially obscured by her widow’s veil.  

For the third farce, The Proposal, Rat Rios portrays Natasha, daughter of the landowner Chubukov (O’Connell). Here, she gnaws on some kind of snack and puts on an Ozark-inspired accent: “Oh my gawd, it’s you,” she greets Lomov (Hankins), then proceeds to pick food out of her teeth with her fingernail.

Similarly, O’Connell, who wears a glorious whipped-cream wig, is especially fine in The Proposal, using a voice that’s a blissful blend of insouciance, tenderness and rage, with a touch of game-show-host smarm. In an email exchange about his translations, Šimek wrote, “The farces are filled with all kinds of Russian insults, all kinds of strange Russian diminutives, and all kinds of Russian outpouring of emotions and complaints, and I did have lots of fun coming up with stuff like that in English.” And they’re fun to hear as well, especially as O’Connell growls and caresses his names for Lomov, calling him “my darling little dove” and “you munchkin,” or, in the midst of a rabid clash, “You Unitarian!”

Hankins, who took on the roles that were originally to be played by Jacob Coleman, gleefully contributes to the physical comedy, creating a suitor in The Proposal who’s so nervous his hands shake until the top hat he’s holding becomes a blur. Like Rat Rios and O’Connell, his facial expressions when he’s wailing reminded me of Olive Oyl’s rubbery features in the Popeye cartoon projected before the show. The cast’s acting may be over the top, but it never spins out of control. It’s the work of professional and disciplined artists who know how far to go without overdoing things, even when doubled over and moaning or when biting a sock.

Sponsor

Which brings me to an interesting twist in this collection: For a show that’s mostly played for laughs, the middle piece, The Ravages of Tobacco, features Nyukhin (Šimek, in his splendid Portland acting debut), a character who’s gripped by classic Chekhovian frustration. At first, Nyukhin is a mild-mannered buffoon in patched clothes and a comb-over wig, but as the monologue progresses, it’s peppered with more and more bursts of anger over his domineering wife. When his final outburst leads him to drop his pants and reveal a pair of baggy green polka dot underpants, his humiliation is humorous with a tinge of pathos.  

This idea was also underscored in an odd but inventive preface to the play, in which Nyukhin dances like a marionette whose strings are being pulled until he eventually begins to swivel his hips. In this piece and throughout the other farces, the production suggests the key to happiness for each of us might be to make friends with our inner clown, whether it’s poignant or just plain funny.

***

Chekhov! Three Farces continues at 21ten Theatre through March 9. Find ticket and scheduling information here.