Fall 2014

By Anton Chekhov, Adapted by Bryony Lavery
Directed by: Susan Russell - Professor

October 23, 24, 25, 27, at 7:30 p.m.; October 26 (Sunday Matinee) 2:00 p.m.
Kline Theatre

 

One of the most famous comedies in world drama, Chekov’s bittersweet tale of love triangles, misunderstandings and longing is alternately witty, playful, nostalgic and tragic.  With his young trophy wife in tow, the Professor comes home to the family farm where his daughter and brother-in-law (Uncle Vanya—the Russian equivalent of “Uncle Johnny”) live.  These intruders disrupt the family’s routine, as people fall in and out of love and realize their own deepest passions and regrets.  Though Uncle Vanya was written in 1899, the themes, characters, and outlooks described are startlingly contemporary.  Chekov is describing the end of an era in Russia; however, from that particular history flows the subtle beauty of the universal.  This ability to paint humanity with such tender and accurate detail is Chekov’s greatest strength and why he is considered one of the world’s greatest writers.