Upper Middlebrow
Episode 65: “Our Play with Louis,” or Louis Malle’s Vanya on 42nd Street
Bagg and Dukes watch Louis Malle's wild 1994 film that takes, as its subject, a rehearsal of Andre Gregory's..."performance" of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. If that sounds convoluted, it is. Gregory and an amazing cast (Julianne Moore, Wallace Shawn, Larry Pine and more) rehearsed the play in a dilapidated theater, inviting a few guests each night to watch what they were working on. Malle's film shoots an entire performance/rehearsal, nesting the theatrical performance in his own film. Yikes.