Video: Go Inside Rehearsals for UNCLE VANYA with Steve Carell, Alison Pill & More

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World

Up next for Lincoln Center Theater is Heidi Shrek's new translation of the Chekhov classic Uncle Vanya

Under the direction of Lila Neuigerberger, it features a star-studied cast, led by Steve Karel

who's making his Broadway debut in the title role. And we caught up with a company during a break in rehearsal

I feel silly to talk this way, but it just feels like a true, complete dream

We are old friends. We are old friends, and I, um, I have... have just been like such a profound, far-reaching admirer of Heidi's as a human being and as an

artist for coming up on almost 20 years now. So this just feels like a tremendous culmination

of both a friendship and a desired partnership on my part. I will say I did this translation

because I wanted to work with the genius Lila Neuigabauer. An old friend of mine, she

assistant director directed my first play in New York City and I am in love with her brain

But beyond that, I used to live in Russia, and I've translated the Siegel when I was in my early 20s and many other Russian plays

And so Lila knew this about my history. And so when she came to me, it seemed like a magical moment wherein two things I love most, Lila and Chekhov came together

What was it that made you say, yes, I want to do this Vanya and I want to come to Broadway

Lila and Heidi. Yeah. Definitely. the translation was fantastic and meeting and talking and getting to know Lila well both of them They so thoughtful and kind and smart and funny and generous And I knew right off the bat that they were going to assemble a cast that was outstanding

and also reflected their kindness and generosity and spirit. And that's become clear this last week

We've just been doing tablework. And it's been. an enormous amount of fun

And everyone could not... Just a nice group of people. So I think it's..

But it was those two, for sure, is what... A lot of people haven't worked together before, right

I don't think there's a single person in the cast who hasn't worked with another person in the cast

So there are connections every which way. And then it is absurd to me that I've never met

or really hung out with Will, given how many connections we have with various people

So even the people we don't know feel like we should have known forever

You and Fred work together. We've worked together. Anika and I had a textbook club going after having met for 20 minutes because I was like

this person is incredible. Yes, we should definitely be textbook club friends

and so that it feels already quite familial. And at the same time, completely understandable

that a bunch of people would want to spend a year working on these place You know coming to Broadway is always special This time it a bit extra special for me because I never worked at the Lincoln Center before

I've never done Chekhov before on Broadway. And this is a whole, this is almost

almost apart from Steve, this is like a brand new group of actors

So there's a real feeling of excitement and newness about the whole thing

And this new adaptation by Heidi Shrek, is really just fantastic. The play feels suddenly very relevant, very resonant for now

I think audiences that are going to come to it, they won't have to be Chekhov aficionados or Connochendi or anything

This play can speak to everybody, I think. I think one of the cool things about Chekhov is that there's so many choices

and emotional realities that the text can hold. And so it's like we're just kind of figuring each other out

and finding what our rhythms are together. And so it's a lot of fun at this point

And, you know, it'll be interesting to see, like, once we stand up, like, how much of that gets to stay, you know

What made you say yes? I want to be a part of this production. There are a lot of things that made me say yes to this

Heidi, Lila, they are awesome and lovely and brilliant. So I was very excited about being under these two women

or next to, because they wouldn't say under, but... And then, you know, our cast is just sick

It a sick cast We are so lucky to have each other in this room And one thing I will say about Lila well I guess Lila and Heidi they cast not just for talent but for heart and spirit

We've got a room of good people that are really enjoyable to spend time with

We do a lot of time laughing. We spend a lot of time laughing at each other. And that's a good thing

It's a healthy room. It's a nice space. This doesn't happen very often to me because I've just old and been around a lot

But it's the first time in a long time that I'm in a company of actors, none of whom with which I've worked

So everybody's fresh and new to me. That's so exciting, so inspiring

And, yeah, I'm really grateful to be part of this excellent company

Excellent company sums it up so much. It's a combination of Chekhov in a new translation

with amazing people creatively and a really fabulous cast. You're about to return to Broadway in Uncle Vanya

and you're about to make your Broadway debut. How excited are you? I'm very excited

I moved here in September, and I was just hoping to book something. So very glad that this worked out, yeah

What's it like living in the world of Heidi's brand new translation of this

It's a lot like living in modern life. It's wonderful. I keep using the word lively

which isn't a word I've used about this material until now. And it's the same play

But it's just, I think, if we do it all right, it's just going to make you hear it and see it differently