NEW YORK—Love takes many forms in Ivan Turgenev’s 1855 work “A Month in the Country.” A sturdy production of this multilayered tale, ably translated by John Christopher Jones, is currently at Classic Stage Company.
The tranquility on the Arkady Estate in Russia, circa 1840, where Arkady (Anthony Edwards) and wife Natalya (Taylor Schilling) are entertaining longtime friend Mikhail Rakitin (Peter Dinklage), belies feelings simmering just below the surface. Feeling stifled in her quiet country life, Natalya’s one outlet is her friendship with Mikhail, an intellectual fellow who’s deeply in love with her—a condition Natalya does nothing to discourage.
She also has a pleasant distraction in Aleksey Belyaev (Mike Faist), a 21-year-old tutor Arkady has engaged for their young son, Koyla (Ian Etheridge), though Aleksey may be more interested in Natalya’s 17-year-old ward, Vera (Megan West).
