Anton Chekhov News

Actors Igor Nevedrov, Dmitry Bozin, Yana Divina, Larisa Kolibabchuk, Valeriya Lyamets (L-R) appear in a scene from Anton Chekhov s Chaika [The Seagull] directed by Pavel Kartashev and performed by St. Petersburg s clown-mime theatre Litsedei, or Licedei (Face makers, or Mimers).

Classic Stage Company (CSC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Jessica R. Jenen, will present acclaimed actors Alan Cumming and Brian Cox in a special one night only staged reading of DEAD DAD DOG, written by John McKay, Monday evening, November 29 at CSC (136 East 13th Street) at 8 pm. The reading will be staged by Brian Kulick.

Classic Stage Company (CSC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Jessica R. Jenen, will present acclaimed actors Alan Cumming and Brian Cox in a special one night only staged reading of DEAD DAD DOG, written by John McKay, Monday evening, November 29 at CSC (136 East 13th Street) at 8 pm. The reading will be staged by Brian Kulick.

ONCE UPON A MATTRESS: The Morrisville-based Actors' NET of Bucks County continues its fifteenth season with a special holiday season presentation of the family favorite musical comedy Once Upon a Mattress.

Goodman Theatre extends Robert Falls' acclaimed new adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull by one week due to high demand for tickets.

Lantern Theater Company opens its 2010/11 season with a 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 Lantern will present its first-ever production of a full-length Chekhov work with Uncle Vanya (Oct. 21 - Nov. 21), directed by the Lantern's Associate Artistic Director Kathryn MacMillan. The company will also present a weekend of special events with The Chekhov Festival from November 5 - 7.

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.

Piven Theatre Workshop extends its 2009-10 season with the Chicago premiere of Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of Chekov's Three Sisters, directed by Artistic Director Emeritus Joyce Piven. The production will run October 16 - November 21, 2010 at Piven Theatre Workshop, 927 Noyes Street

In the late 1800s, Russia's preeminent literary doctor, Anton Chekhov, wrote humorous newspaper articles to pay for medical school. Neil Simon, Broadway's master of comedy, elegantly weaves eight of Chekhov's stories into a laugh-out-loud vaudeville experience. Laughter is always the best medicine, so let THE GOOD DOCTOR cure what ails you!

Theaterlab (Carlo Altomare and Orietta Crispino, Co-Artistic Directors) presents A Poet in New York, An Homage to Garcia Lorca, choreographed and performed by Carolina Fonseca, November 17 through 20, 2010 at its downtown home (137 West 14th St., between 6th and 7th Ave.).

Ellen Burstyn and Carol Kane as well as Bryony Hannah and Tobias Menzies are to join the previously announced Keira Knightley and Elisabeth Moss in Ian Rickson's production of Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour. The Children's Hour, produced by Sonia Friedman Productions & Scott Landis, will have its first preview at the Comedy Theatre on 22 January 2011 with press night on 9 February and is booking until 2 April 2011.

Negro Ensemble Company (www.necinc.org), America's legendary black theater company, will present 'With Aaron's Arms Around Me and The Mire,' an evening of two one-acts by Sophia Romma, a Russian-American playwright, both on the theme of intolerance. Both plays deal with eternal themes of intolerance from an émigré's perspective. Performances are December 3 to 19 at Cherry Lane Theatre (Studio Theatre), 38 Commerce Street. Since our notice of November 2, there has been a change of directors on one of the plays. Now both one-acts will be directed by Negro Ensemble Company's Artistic Director, Charles Weldon.

Lantern Theater Company opens its 2010/11 season with a 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 Lantern will present its first-ever production of a full-length Chekhov work with Uncle Vanya (Oct. 21 - Nov. 21), directed by the Lantern's Associate Artistic Director Kathryn MacMillan. The company will also present a weekend of special events with The Chekhov Festival from November 5 - 7.

Theaterlab (Carlo Altomare and Orietta Crispino, Co-Artistic Directors) presents A Poet in New York, An Homage to Garcia Lorca, choreographed and performed by Carolina Fonseca, November 17 through 20, 2010 at its downtown home (137 West 14th St., between 6th and 7th Ave.).

Marin Theatre Company announces the West Coast premiere of Happy Now? by British playwright Lucinda Coxon. Happy Now? received rave reviews on both sides of the Atlantic in London and New York. Jasson Minadakis directs Happy Now? in the Boyer Theatre November 11 through December 5, 2010. Opening night is November 16.

Neil Simon's THE GOOD DOCTOR finds the playwright mining the short stories of Anton Chekhov for material, and this comedy with music, is a decidedly mixed bag, occasionally producing laughs, but not nearly in the abundance we've come to expect. It's an odd marriage of styles, and more often than not, the humor seems strained or overly familiar. Avalon Theatre Company opens their 2010-2011 season with a fairly solid production of this minor work from the Simon canon, although it could benefit greatly from a bit of tightening.

The Goodman Theatre is proud to present their 2010-2011 Season Dates. Tickets for these shows can be bought online at www.goodmantheatre.org, by phone at (312) 443-3800, or in person at 170 North Dearborn Street, Chicago, IL 60601.

Goodman Theatre announces the 12-member cast for Robert Fall's intimate new production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull (rehearsals begin August 24, tickets go on sale August 13). This 19th century masterpiece is brought to life by a company including Francis Guinan (August: Osage County; The Grapes of Wrath) in his Goodman debut as the retired judge Peter Sorin and Mary Beth Fisher (Rock 'N' Roll; The Year of Magical Thinking) as his sister, Irina Arkadina, a beautiful, selfish actress. Also joining the cast are Janet Ulrich Brooks (Polina); Rebecca Buller (Maid); Cliff Chamberlain (Boris Trigorin, Irina's young lover), Dietrich Gray (Yakov); Stephen Louis Grush (Konstantin Trepliov, Irina's twenty-five year old playwright son); Scott Jaeck (Dr. Eugene Dorn); Kelly O'Sullivan (Masha); Steve Pickering (Ilia Shamrayev, Sorin's estate manager); Demetrios Troy (Simon Medvendenko); and Heather Wood (Nina Zarietchnaya). The Seagull runs October 16 - November 14, 2010 in the Owen Theatre; tickets are $10 - $45. Kirkland & Ellis LLP is the Contributing Sponsor of The Seagull.Artistic Director Robert Falls returns to the work of Anton Chekhov following previous productions of Three Sisters at the Goodman (1995, with a cast including Calista Flockhart, Susan Bruce and Jenny Bacon) and Orchards: Seven American Playwrights Present Stories by Chekhov (1986, adaptations by Maria Irene Fornes, Spalding Gray, John Guare, David Mamet, Wendy Wasserstein, Michael Weller and Samm-Art Williams-The Acting Company/New York, tour with off-Broadway opening).

Actors Samuel Finzi (R) and Katrin Wichmann appear in a scene from Dmitry Gochev s production of Ward No. 6 based on Anton Chekhov s story, performed at the New European Theatre (NET) Festival.

Classic Stage Company (CSC), under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Kulick and Executive Director Jessica R. Jenen, will present Anton Chekhov's THREE SISTERS, featuring 2010 Academy Award nominee Maggie Gyllenhaal (Masha), Josh Hamilton (Andre) 2010 Tony Award nominee Jessica Hecht (Olga) and acclaimed actor Peter Sarsgaard (Vershinin).