Before I go any further let me get the basics out of the way.

Chalk Repertory Theatre’s latest production, a new adaptation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya by Libby Appel from a literal translation by Allison Horsley is a solid take on the classic. The adaptation purrs, the cast is solid with a couple of standout performances, and the arc of the narrative is blessedly clear.

Anyone who has had the misfortune of seeing a piece of Chekov crawl up into itself to die will be pleased to know this doesn’t happen here.

If I was coming at this with just the eyes of a theatre reviewer I’d be pretty happy with this piece. This, however, is No Proscenium and there’s a second set of criteria. While every piece of site-specific or immersive theatre is — practically by design — unique the problem with this Vanya is that it could have been dropped into just about any black box theatre and would have been largely intact.

From a company that aims to produce theatre in unconventional spaces that’s a disappointment.

Before we get into the problems, however, I want to focus on what works. Starting with the literary aspects. Appel’s version of the play is stellar. It’s so easy for Chekov to wind up sounding stale, or hopelessly alien. There’s none of that in this script. Instead themes about the environment and class disparity shine brightly.

Andrew Borba, who plays the titular Vanya, was a joy to watch. His absorption in the role was infectious, and at times I found myself focusing solely on him in order to see how Vanya was processing the action around him. Founding Chalk Rep member Hilary Ward worked the arc of Yelena Andreyevna brilliantly, from bored socialite to the woman at the heart of a minefield of desires. That I began the production set against her and wound up caring most about her fate was testament to me of her skill.

Where the production came crashing down for me was in the space itself. The Neutra Institute Museum and Gallery sounds great on paper as a location for a site-responsive piece of theatre. How can it not? Neutra’s architecture is part of the DNA of Los Angeles, and the thought of one of the richest plays in the modern canon being played out on such a backdrop sets the imagination roaring.

The Museum and Gallery’s main space, however, is just a big old room with some modernist furniture and accents. Lit primarily by florescent lighting. The seating for the show was arraigned so that the audience was on all four sides of the room, with about 2/3rds of the audience in close to a central table and the final third at a remove.

Gone was the intimacy of last year’s Fool For Love, which brought the audience in so close that it felt like we had magnifying glasses with which to examine the player’s souls. Yet the medium-size of the space for Vanya also cut against more theatrically tuned performances. While those of us who were on the far side of the room didn’t have the benefit of close quarters with the performers, when the action went to a larger scale it felt like…well it felt like acting.

Nor was there anything dynamic enough about the staging within the space to separate this Vanya from a production inside any random multi-purpose room. I actually had the pleasure of seeing a staged reading of part of this work when it was still in progress last year. That took place at the Masonic Lodge at the Hollywood Forever cemetery. The cast wasn’t identical to the current production, but the soul of the work was there, and in the Lodge this piece sang. I came away excited about the prospect of Vanya being stood up somewhere out in the world.

In truth I didn’t relish writing this, not one bit. If I was comparing this Vanya to most of the theatre I’ve seen in the past decade it would get more than a passing grade. It might not be the manic reinvention that Theatre Movement Bazaar’s Track 3 was of Three Sisters, but it’s a solid effort.

But I’m not comparing this to the bulk of theatre. I’m comparing it to Chalk Rep’s own work, and in that I find this Vanya is missing something essential. The space isn’t serving the company the way it should, and without that the spell of site-adaptive work just can’t be cast.

Uncle Vanya runs through March 15th, Fridays-Sundays at The Netura Institute Museum located at 2379 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles 90039.