Volume 22, Number 21 & 22 · January 22, 1976
In Chekhov's Spell
By Robert Mazzocco
The Three Sisters
by Anton Chekhov. The Acting Company, directed by Boris Tumarin
Travesties
by Tom Stoppard, directed by Peter Wood
Treemonisha
by Scott Joplin, directed by Frank Corsara
One of the odd aspects of Chekhov's career is that he began as a writer of stories that were fluent 'as a lark's song,' then later he became famous for creating characters who have trouble completing even a simple sentence. And this—no less—on the stage. A typical moment in one of his dramas is silence interspersed with an uncontrollable outburst, the characters complaining that they do not know what they are saying or what they are doing, that their thoughts are 'in a tangle,' that they cannot remember a face or a line from a poem. Of course these vagaries, though beautifully done, are also a little misleading, because eventually the characters manage to compose themselves quite strikingly. And if the arias that follow are rationed, they are arias nonetheless.
Review, 5020 words
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