By Cynthia Citron
- Cynthia Citron
WEST HOLLYWOOD, California — Diary of a Madman is considered one of Nikolai Gogol’s greatest short stories. As an 80-minute monologue, however, it’s a bit much. But the version running now at The Actors Circle Theater in West Hollywood is as good as it gets.
Russian-born actor Ilia Volok is amazing to watch. As he whirls his large athletic body around the stage he is alternately graceful and awkward, balletic and clunky, whimsical and fearful.
The story is simple enough: A minor clerk in a government office falls in love with The Director’s daughter and fantasizes that she might come to reciprocate his feelings. As she continues to ignore him, he descends into madness and delusions.
His asylum cell becomes peopled by an imaginary dog that writes letters to her lover and littered with pages from the clerk’s diary that he reads aloud and acts out.
There are some amusing twists and turns, and some sly reflections on 19th century Russian bureaucracy, but in the long run (and 80 minutes is a long run) the play is tedious and repetitive.
Not for lack of trying, though. Ilia Volok and director Eugene Lazarev have brought blood, sweat, and tears to this classic short story and, as I said before, Ilia Volok is amazing to watch.
Diary of a Madman will continue at The Actors Circle Theater, 7313 Santa Monica Blvd., in West Hollywood, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 7 through March 31st. Call 310-945-6980 for tickets.
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Citron is Los Angeles bureau chief for San Diego Jewish World. She may be contacted at cynthia.citron@sdjewishworld.com