On Theater:

Anton Chekhov wrote a good deal about frustration, underachievement and abject boredom, but in his Russia of the late 19th century, these were the pervasive emotions among the citizenry.

One of his most notable examples is “The Three Sisters,” now undergoing a generally impressive revival at Orange Coast College, where these pre-revolutionary Russians vent their spleens with varying degrees of effectiveness.

Covering the three years from 1897 to 1900, “The Three Sisters” focuses on the title trio, living on an inherited provincial estate with their brother. They grew up in Moscow and ache to return to the capital.

This being Chekhov, however, you can safely bet against that occurrence.

In director Alex Golson’s involving OCC production, conflict of one sort or another pervades the atmosphere, often at the top of the voice. Performances vary in overall effect, with the actresses in the three principal roles making the deepest impressions.

Shantiel Vasquez as Irina, the youngest, glistens in her virginal fervor and quest for true romance. The eldest, Olga (Alysa Michelle Rupect Breen) is a frustrated spinster educator who “would have married any man, even an old man if he had asked,” and Breen underscores this lack of fulfillment.

The most impassioned sister is Liliana Frandsen’s fiery Masha, wed in her teens to a prosaic teacher (David Miles) but now involved with a dashing army officer (Travis McHenry).

Miles’ passive Kulygin — proclaiming himself “a very, very happy man” — accepts and forgives his wife’s affair, while McHenry’s proud military bearing (and sense of duty to a disturbed wife) keep the pair apart, despite an electrifying parting scene.

Aaron Drake softly enacts the bookish brother who shares the estate, and whose gambling debts threaten his stewardship. He is thoroughly overshadowed by a domineering wife (Alexandra Barton) who becomes a most hateful figure in the household, bullying both servants and sisters-in-law.

Scenery is consumed in robust bites by Shawn P. Greenfield as the drunken doctor who once loved the girls’ mother but now wallows in alcoholic futility. Will Cespedes as Irina’s awkward suitor and Michael Greening Page as his excitable rival for her affections combine for a flinty subplot.

The lower class is represented effectively by Jeremy Spandorf as an elderly and somewhat deaf council functionary and Lindsey Ellison as the aged maid Olga retains out of loving friendship.

David Scaglione’s three rustic settings and Cynthia Corley’s authentic-looking period costumes bolster the play’s foreboding atmosphere under Rick Golson’s fine lighting effects.

“The Three Sisters” is a theatrical history lesson well delivered at OCC.

If You Go

What: “The Three Sisters”

Where: Orange Coast College, 2701 Fairview Road, Costa Mesa

When: Closing performances 8 tonight through Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday

Cost: $12 to $15

Call: (714) 432-5880

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews appear Fridays.