stage unusable, so that they were restricted to a section of what had been the orchestra. For the film production, some rows of seats were removed and a small platform was built for the cast and film crew. Shortly after the production of Vanya, the New Amsterdam was leased to The Walt Disney Company. Disney restored the theatre to its grand original design and reopened it in 1997. Reception Critical response Vanya on 42nd Street received mostly positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an 89% approval rating, based on 37 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "Beautiful performances and the subtle hand of master Louis Malle make this adaptation of Chekov's Uncle Vanya an eccentric presentation of an enduring classic." Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars in his review for the Chicago Sun-Times. "As he did with My Dinner with Andre", Ebert wrote, "[Malle shows] he is the master of a visual style suited to tightly-encompassed material. There is not a shot that calls attention to itself, and yet not a shot that is without thought." Year-end lists 1st – Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times 2nd – Stephen Hunter, The Baltimore Sun 2nd – Michael Mills, The Palm Beach Post 3rd – Bob Strauss, Los Angeles Daily News 5th – Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times 5th – David Elliott, The San Diego Union-Tribune 7th – Gene Siskel, The Chicago Tribune 9th – Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times 9th – Robert Denerstein, Rocky Mountain News Top 10 (listed alphabetically, not ranked) – Mike Clark, USA Today Top 10 (not ranked) – Betsy Pickle, Knoxville News-Sentinel Top 10 runner-ups (not ranked) – Janet Maslin, The New York Times Honorable mention – Glenn Lovell, San Jose Mercury News Honorable mention – William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer References External links Vanya on 42nd Street: An American Vanya an essay by Steven Vineberg at the Criterion Collection 1994 films 1994 romantic drama films Films based on Uncle Vanya Films directed by Louis Malle Films shot in New York City 1990s English-language films Films with screenplays by Wallace Shawn