Anton Chekhov News

California State University, Fullerton's Spring 2019 season includes "The Cherry Orchard,"  "Lysistrata," "Heathers The Musical," and "Spring Dance Theatre" all on the CSUF campus, running March through May.

OK, so putting up a dark and moody production of Anton Chekhov's 'Uncle Vanya' may sound redundant but remember, this is The Seagull Project. They've spent the last eight years killing it with all things Chekhov and now with the completion of the main plays, the dark and moody tone isn't so much the story but the way it's presented that thrilled.

Director Mark Giesser returns to Upstairs at the Gatehouse with George and Ira Gershwin's madcap musical hidden gem Strike Up The Band, written with George S. Kaufman in 1927. While the original script was rewritten by Morrie Ryskind in 1930, this production presents the original, with the dark satire on America's war-mongering over a trade deal re-established.

Diaries of Madmen is a new production based on Nikolai Gogol's novel Diary of a Madman and Russian musician's Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky's personal diaries. Famous farcical short story by one of the greatest Russian writers Nikolai Gogol, is a funny and brutal exploration of a civil servant's Poprishchin struggle to keep a grip on reality.

Eclipses Group Theater New York presents the world premiere of Hercules: In Search of a Hero, conceived and directed by Ioanna Katsarou, translated by Demetri Bonaros, with original compositions by Costas Baltazanis. Hercules: In Search of a Hero will be performed at the Abrons Arts Center as part of the @Abrons Series program, from January 24 - February 10, 2019 in a limited engagement. The Abrons Arts Center is located at 466 Grand Street (at Pitt Street) in New York City. Previews begin tonight, January 24, for a January 26 opening.

This winter, Company of Fools (COF) will present the final mainstage play of its 23rd theatre season with a production of 4000 Miles - a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Written by celebrated playwright Amy Herzog and directed by Gary Hopper, 4000 Miles will run Feb. 13-March 2, 2019, at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey.

Last Thursday, the Theatre des Capucins welcomed the comedy adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull. The plot is centered around a tragicomic chain of unrequited love, which ultimately brings several of the characters to the fringes of self-awareness, self-doubt and self-control.

Metropolitan Theatre Ensemble at the Warwick Theater in Kansas City presents Anton Chekhov's 'The Cherry Orchard' directed by Todd Lanker January 17-27, 2019. The MET's production bounds with energetic performances as it explores an emotionally rugged terrain in this classic play. Director Todd Lanker's staging keeps the whirl and swirl of events moving at rapid-fire place as the cast wields Chekhov's script like well sharpened knife.

THE BELLE OF AMHERST RETURNS TO THE STAGE ON FEBRUARY 26, 2019 to the American Theatre of Actors, and will star, world renowned actress, Jane Culley in the title role of Emily Dickinson. In her Amherst, Massachusetts home, the reclusive nineteenth-century poet Emily Dickinson recollects her past through her work, her diaries and letters, and a few encounters with significant people in her life. William Luce's classic play shows both the pain and joy of Dickinson's secluded life. Originally performed in 1976, directed by Charles Nelson Reilly and starring Julie Harris. The Belle of Amherst takes place through the current and past experiences of Emily Dickinson's life, 1830-1886 and is set in her home in Amherst Massachusetts.

Anton Chekhov's endearing and everlasting tragicomedy -- in which a family's cross-generational dispute about the future of their beloved estate creates a clash between socialism and capitalism, legacy and reality -- kicks off the winter mainstage season at Northwestern University's Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts.

Nicolas Talar for Enzo Products Ltd and Adam Blanshay Productions have announced the full casting for Notre Dame de Paris. Twenty years after its Parisian debut, and after receiving international acclaim in 23 countries worldwide, the French musical is set to be performed at London Coliseum. The original French production in London will be performed with English surtitles and a live orchestra from Wednesday 23 Sunday 27 January 2019, with a national press night on Wednesday 23 January 2019 at 7pm. The London run will culminate with the 5,000th performance of the worldwide hit show.

The Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre presents Tom Stoppard's translation of Anton Chekhov's theatrical masterpiece The Cherry Orchard at the Warwick Theatre January 17-27.

In this dark comedy, Reza de Wet weaves together a collection of Chekhov's iconic characters into a single musing on the end of a world. On February 1, EgoPo Classic Theater presents this great South African playwright's take on Anton Chekhov's classic, twenty years later, during the fall the privileged society. Three Sisters Two previews January 30-31 and opens Friday, February 1. The show runs three weeks, closing Feb. 17.

At the commencement of MINOR CHARACTER, New Saloon's offering at the Public Theater's 2019 Under The Radar Festival, actor Madeline Wise stands downstage center, faces the audience and, with barely any body movement or facial expressions, begins rattling off the lines of various characters from the opening scene of Anton Chekhov's classic comedy of life's futility, UNCLE VANYA.

It is the winter doldrums here in North Country, but what better way to combat those blues than to take in an entertaining, moving, or inspiring evening at one of Maine's fine theatre companies? And if not in winter, why not plan ahead by subscribing to some of these companies or buying seats for one of the many exciting upcoming events for 2019? To assist you in your planning, BWW offers these picks of the ten productions and company repertoire to which we look forward most.

Eclipses Group Theater New York proudly presents the world premiere of Hercules: In Search of a Hero, conceived and directed by Ioanna Katsarou, translated by Demetri Bonaros, with original compositions by Costas Baltazanis. Hercules: In Search of a Hero will be performed at the Abrons Arts Center as part of the @Abrons Series program, from January 24 - February 10, 2019 in a limited engagement. The Abrons Arts Center is located at 466 Grand Street (at Pitt Street) in New York City. Previews begin January 24 for a January 26 opening.

The Drama League (Executive Artistic Director Gabriel Stelian-Shanks) has announced casting for DirectorFest 2019: The 35th Annual Directors Festival, the only festival in the United States exploring the art of contemporary stage directing. DirectorFest takes place at various locations around NYC: New Ohio Theatre (154 Christopher Street), The Drama League Theater Center (32 Avenue of the Americas), LaGuardia Performing Arts Center (31-10 Thompson Avenue, Long Island City), and Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street). Festival programming, tickets and additional details are available at www.directorfest.org, or by calling (212) 244-9494.

Sonia Friedman Productions confirms the previously announced end-date of 19 January 2019 for the West End production of Summer and Smoke. Audiences have less than three weeks to catch Rebecca Frecknall's critically acclaimed revival and reinvention of Tennessee Williams' intoxicating and gripping classic. This breathtaking production starring the sensational Patsy Ferran and Matthew Needham completes its highly successful West End run at the Duke of York's Theatre.

Springing straight from its production of The Glass Menagerie, Lit Moon Theatre now brings three additional productions to Center Stage: First, Dickens' classic, A Christmas Carol, is retold as Humbug. Then, on January 4th, Lit Moon offers its visually arresting and emotionally captivating production of A Doll House. The next day, 38 actors from Lit Moon's over 25-year history will join together for a brand-new production of The Nina Variations by Steven Dietz.

In 2018, I saw 101 productions ranging from black box theatres with more actors in the cast than punters in the stalls to huge productions at the Royal Opera House and London Coliseum.