Paulanne Simmons
"Russian Transport" Is Sinister and Suspenseful Russian Transport
This tight drama, directed by Scott Elliott, is The New Group's latest presentation, and compared with the group's most recent offerings, it is somewhat traditional in plotting and characterization. Diana (Janeane Garofalo) and Misha (Daniel Oreskes) live in Sheepshead Bay with their two teenage children, Alex (Raviv Ulman) and his younger sister Mira (Sarah Steele). Misha runs a car service. Diana works in some sort of retail establishment. Alex helps his father and earns extra money selling cell phones and drugs. Mira is discovering love in back alleys while she dreams of spending a year abroad. There's plenty of discord in this Russian Jewish family. Diana refuses to listen to her daughter pleading to be allowed to apply to the study abroad program. Alex teases and belittles his sister relentlessly. Diana is not dissatisfied with her husband's inability to earn more money. Some of their arguments are funny. Others are brutal. When Diana's brother Boris (Morgan Spector) arrives from Russia, at first it seems that the family may become happier and more stable. Boris is Diana's darling. He is strong, good-looking and apparently, a ladies' man. He has come to help out the family financially.
Boris arrives laden with gifts and charm. He seems to know everyone's
sore spot and how it can be soothed. He also packs a gun and has friends
most people wouldn't want around the house. And part of his plan is
to get Alex to help him chauffeur young Russian women from the airport
to handlers who will trap them into a life of prostitution. Now Alex
too carries a gun. But it doesn't sit with him as easily as it does
with his uncle. Chekhov famously said, "If in the first act you have hung a pistol on the wall, then in the following one it should be fired. Otherwise don't put it there." "Russian Transport" has only one act, but it has two guns and nothing much is done with either. Nevertheless, Garofalo is both demonic and loving, and if Derek McLane's two-tiered set does not entirely serve the various scene changes, Peter Kaczorowski's lighting and the cast's fine acting help overcome this snag. "Russian Transport" is a fascinating look into the seamier side of the Russian Jewish community. It will surely make some people uncomfortable. In theater, that's a good thing.
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