Love is Everything in “Onegin”

By Michele Markarian

“Onegin” – Based on the poem by Pushkin and the opera by Tchaikovsky. Written by Amiel Gladstone and Veda Hille. Directed by Weylin Symes; Choreographed by Ilyse Robbins; Music Direction by Steve Bass; Scenic Design by Katy Monthei; Lighting Design by Jeff Adelberg;Costume Design by Deirdre Gerrard; Sound Design by John Stone. Presented by Greater Boston Stage Company, 395 Main Street, Stoneham through March 31.

“Do you see someone worth dying for?” asked Vladimir Lensky (a winsome Michael Jennings Mahoney) to a random woman in the audience. She thought a moment. “You!” she said softly.  He looked momentarily taken aback, but recovered enough to thank her and keep the scene moving. Such is the spirit of “Onegin”, a randy, insouciant and utterly captivating musical rendering of Pushkin’s tragic novel in verse, “Eugene Onegin”. For anyone, and that means everyone, who’s ever loved and lost, this show is a must-see.

Eugene Onegin (the dashing Mark Linehan), a self-described melancholic, has been left a large sum of money by his uncle. He wanders the country, a bored and restless dandy who demands to be wowed by the many women who are attracted to him. His friend, Lensky, is more sincere; he is happily betrothed to his childhood sweetheart, Olga (the lovely Josephine Moshiri Elwood, who also plays violin). Lensky invites Onegin to Olga’s home so that he can meet her sister, the bookish and poetic Tatyana (Sarah Pothier). Onegin and Tatyana are immediately attracted to one another. For Tatyana, Onegin represents la petite mort, and in her innocence and infatuation, she writes him a note expressing her love.

Onegin refuses her, saying that if he were the kind of man to marry she would be the woman he would want, but – he isn’t the kind. He stays away, much to Tatyana’s upset, only to return for her name day celebration at Lensky’s insistence. Furious with the party gossip regarding him and Tatyana, and furious with Lensky for inviting him, Onegin extracts revenge by dancing suggestively with Olga (who likes it). Lensky challenges Onegin to a duel. Six years later, Onegin is at a party in St. Petersburg and spies a dazzling woman who turns out to be Tatyana.  Onegin realizes he has loved her all along, and begs her to elope with him, but Tatyana, who, while moved, is married to Prince Gremin (Peter Adams).

It’s heady, emotional stuff, the drama of soulmates, regret and loss. Pothier, who has a breathtaking voice, gives credibility to the sensitive and soulful Tatyana. Her scenes with Linehan are particularly effective; their duet “Once More, Onegin” was so sad and heartfelt it made me teary. Linehan is marvelous as Onegin. Beneath his dispassionate stance he has a brooding quality; when he finally opens up in anguish over his missed opportunity with Tatyana it is heartbreaking. Jennings Mahoney, whose dulcet voice has amazing range, is appealing as the transparent Lensky. The three of them, along with Moshiri Elwood, perform a gorgeous quartet, “Two Sisters”. The supporting cast is strong, with a hilarious name day performance, “The Queen of Tonight”, sung by French singer Triquet (Christopher Chew). 

The tight cast of seven, adroitly directed by Weylin Symmes, are given to breaking the fourth wall, scattering snow and petals over the audience, and drinking shots of vodka. This gives a loose, untidy cabaret-like feeling to the show, well played against Katheryn Monthei’s bohemian, almost decadent-looking set, a sprawling, intimate drawing room with red drapes and lanterns and corner area to house the excellent live band. Jeff Adelberg’s lighting design adds tension and drama to the action.

“Soulmates aren’t people you end up with,” a co-worker told me once, many years ago.  I remember being indignant, like, how can you say this?  And perhaps it’s something about the intensity of the connection that can’t survive the day to day, or maybe just the fact that sexy people like to keep it moving. Onegin’s big reveal – to himself – at the end of the play: is it because Tatyana is unavailable that he is suddenly so invested, or has he really had a change of heart?  Tatyana loves her husband, but not with the same intensity as she loves Onegin, for sure.  Even Olga’s love for the boyish Lensky was more out of kindness and familiarity than passion – is it any wonder she dances with the attractive Onegin with such abandon? Pushkin himself died in a duel with his brother-in-law, whom he accused of flirting with his wife, a poet. 

“Oh, how we love to dream of love”, writes Onegin to Tatyana. Go to the theater, vicariously relive your own un petite mort and be glad that you’re alive. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.greaterbostonstage.org