Lantern Theatre Company Holds CHEKHOV FESTIVAL, 11/5-21

Lantern Theater Company will present a weekend of literary events and performances with The Chekhov Festival from Friday, November 5 - Sunday, November 7, in celebration of the influential work of Russian playwright, short-story writer, and physician Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) during the 150th anniversary year of his birth. The Chekhov Festival features a series of performances, readings, and discussions with scholars over dinner.  The three-day Festival is offered in conjunction with the 2010/11 season opener, Uncle Vanya (through Nov. 21), Lantern's first-ever production of a full-length Chekhov work.
 
The Chekhov Festival will be held at various locations and at Lantern Theater Company, located at St. Stephen's Theater, 10th & Ludlow Streets in Philadelphia. Individual event admissions vary. An All-Access Festival Pass is available for $70.  Tickets are available online at www.lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395.
 
On Friday, November 5 beginning at 6:00 p.m., Lantern will host a Festival Kick-Off Party,  held off-site at Marathon Grill (10th & Walnut Streets), inviting fellow theatergoers to mingle with Lantern staff and artists over complimentary light fare and happy hour specials. The party will be followed by a 7:15 p.m. performance of the Chekhov one-act play, On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco. Other special programs include an intimate Scholar's Dinner (Nov. 6, 4:30 p.m.) featuring guest panelists Toby Zinman and Patricia Denison at Fergie's Pub (1214 Sansom Street). Zinman, a theater critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer and Variety, is a professor of English at the University of the Arts where she has published widely and lectured internationally on contemporary American drama.  Denison, a Senior Lecturer in English and Acting Chair of the Department of Theatre at Barnard College, has published articles on Victorian drama, modern British drama, and American drama.  [A full list of festival schedule and event descriptions follows below.]
 
Anton Chekhov is considered one of the greatest writers in the history of world literature. In his early career he produced a number of plays and one-acts, although his enduring reputation as one of the world's greatest dramatists relies largely on the classics The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1897), The Three Sisters (1901), and The Cherry Orchard (1904).

For some, Chekhov's achievements in short story writing eclipse his plays; the most famous of his many short works include The Death of a Government Clerk, Easter Eve, The Bet, The Black Monk, Peasants, and The Lady with the Lapdog. Chekhov began writing as a young man, primarily to support his family and put himself through medical school, and he continued to practice medicine throughout his literary career. "Medicine is my lawful wife," he once said, "and literature my mistress."
The Chekhov Festival
Friday, November 5 - Sunday, November 7
Programs & Events

Presented in conjunction with Uncle Vanya, The Chekhov Festival will feature a series of special events, readings, and discussions with scholars over dinner, offering deeper insight into the work of one of the greatest writers in the history of world literature. A full schedule of festival events follows below.

Where:            Lantern Theater Company (unless otherwise noted)
                        At St. Stephen's Theater
                        10th & Ludlow Streets
                        Philadelphia, PA 19107

Admission:      Event admissions vary and include FREE programs, $12 performances ($10 for subscribers and students) and more. An All-Access Festival Pass is available for $70. 

Information:   (215) 829-0395 or visit www.lanterntheater.org

Friday, November 5

Festival Kick-Off Party: Mingle with Lantern staff, artists, and fellow theatergoers over complimentary light fare and happy hour specials.
6:00 p.m., FREE
Location: Marathon Grill, 10th & Walnut Streets
 
Curtain Raiser: On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco, a Chekhov one-act starring Joshua Browns
7:15 p.m., FREE
Location: the Lantern; 10min
 
Saturday, November 6

Chekhov Shorts: Letters, Lovers, and a Lapdog
Selections: The Bet directed by Joshua Browns, Lady with Lapdog directed by M. Craig Getting, and Chekhov in Love directed by David Howey
2:00 p.m., $12 ($10 for subscribers and students)
Location: the Lantern; 90min
 
Scholars' Dinner: Chekhov: Mingling the Ordinary with the Extraordinary, with guest panelists Toby Zinman and Patricia D. Denison, moderated by Kathryn MacMillan. Admission includes a three-course meal of salad, choice of entrée, and dessert with coffee or tea, plus one free drink at cash bar.
4:30 p.m., $35 ($30 for subscribers and students)
Location: Fergie's Pub, 1214 Sansom Street
 
Toby Zinman has been reviewing theater for The Philadelphia Inquirer since January 2006; she's the Philadelpha reviewer for Variety and a frequent contributor to American Theatre magazine. Her "day job" is professor of English at the University of the Arts, where she was awarded the prize for distinguished teaching. As an academic, she has published widely and lectured internationally on contemporary American drama. Her third career, as an adventure travel writer, has taken her all over the world.

Patricia D. Denison is a Senior Lecturer in English and Acting Chair of the Department of Theatre at Barnard College. She teaches dramatic literature in both the Department of English and the Department of Theatre at Barnard. Dr. Denison has published articles on Victorian drama, modern British drama, and American drama. She is finishing a book on Arthur W. Pinero and late-nineteenth century British drama.
 
Curtain Raiser: The Death of a Government Clerk, a Chekhov one-act starring Charles McMahon
7:15 p.m., FREE
Location: the Lantern; 12min

Sunday, November 7

Curtain Raiser: On the Harmful Effects of Tobacco, a Chekhov one-act starring Joshua Browns
1:15 p.m., FREE
Location: the Lantern; 10min
 
Chekhov Shorts: Letters, Lovers, and a Lapdog
7:00 p.m., $12 ($10 for subscribers and students)
Selections: The Bet directed by Joshua Browns, Lady with Lapdog directed by M. Craig Getting, and Chekhov in Love directed by David Howey.
Location: the Lantern; 90min
 
Uncle Vanya
Thursday, October 21 - Sunday, November 21

Set in the provocative, tragicomic world of Chekhov's Russia, the Lantern's fresh interpretation of Uncle Vanya is bursting with passion and fierce humor. Vanya and his niece Sonya have toiled for years to keep the family estate going. When Sonya's father, the retired Professor Serebryakov, and his dazzling young wife Yelena return for a visit, all work comes to a halt. Old resentments explode into arguments and secret longings come to light. The Lantern's production of Uncle Vanya begins previews on October 21, opens on October 27 (press night, 7:00 p.m.), and closes on November 21, 2010.

Tickets are $20-$36 and are available online at www.lanterntheater.org or by calling the Lantern Box Office at (215) 829-0395. $10 student rush tickets are available 10 minutes before curtain with valid ID; cash only. Additional discounts are available for seniors and groups of 10 or more.

Lantern Theater Company will continue its 2010/11 season with Between Heaven and Hell: The Anthony Lawton Festival (December 3 - 19, 2010); A Skull in Connemara by Martin McDonagh (January 13 - February 6, 2011); A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (March 10 - April 10, 2011); and Vigil by Morris Panych (May 19 - June 12, 2011).

Lantern Theater Company thanks its 2010/11 season corporate partners at Marathon Grill, La Fourno Ristorante Trattoria, and Dunkin' Donuts, and its community partners at St. Stephen's Church. The Chekhov Festival is supported by the Pennsylvania Humanities Council and Marathon Grill.