2 Chekhov Plays
January 29, 2025 - February 2, 2025
DIRECTOR: John DeBenedetto
CAST: Jonathan Beebe, Kate Jergensen, Natasha Sahs, Devon Lawler, Octavio Vourvoulias, Harry Cooke
“A Tragedian in Spite of Himself” (1889) In the play, Ivan Ivanovitch Tolkachov asks to borrow a revolver from his friend, Alexey Alexeyevitch Murashkin. Murashkin inquires to the reason, and Tolkachov complains bitterly about the bad events in his life. Murashkin expresses his sympathy, and then asks Tolkachov to take a sewing machine and a caged canary to Olga Pavlovna, a mutual acquaintance. On hearing Murashkin’s request, Tolkachov snaps and begins chasing Murashkin around the room, screaming that he wants blood.
“The Anniversary” (1891) In this funny one-act play, Anton Chekhov takes on the corporate world. The play is named after the 15th anniversary of a bank, during a celebration when everything seems to go wrong, from the annoying young wife of the chairman of the board to an intrusive woman who demands that the bank make good for a claim she made on the War Department to the snapping of the patience of the bank clerk who is preparing the chairman’s speech. The Anniversary is similar in its effect to The Wedding, another one act classic.
January 2025