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Release date: April 4, 2003 Theater Emory's "Three Sisters" Asks Meaning of LifeWHAT: Theater Emory's production of Anton Chekhov's classic "Three Sisters" WHEN: 8 p.m. April 17-19, 23-26 and 3 p.m. April 26 WHERE: Mary Gray Munroe Theater, Dobbs Center, 605 Asbury Circle, Emory COST: $15 general admission; $13.50 seniors; $12.50 Emory faculty and staff, PBA members, Arts Card holders; $6 Emory students. Call 404-727-5050 or go to www.emory.edu/ARTS for tickets or more information. The performance of "Three Sisters" marks the beginning of Theater Emory's research into the work of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (1860-1904). Tim McDonough, associate professor in Emory University's theater studies department, will direct the production using a text translated by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lanford Wilson. Performances will be 8 p.m. April 17-19 and 23-26, and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 26 in the Mary Gray Munroe Theater, 605 Dobbs Center, on the Emory campus. Call 404-727-5050 for tickets or more information. The story centers on the Prozorov family and especially the three sisters--Olga, Masha and Irina--who long to understand the reason for their existence. In words used as a prologue to one of the great Russian productions of the play, Masha said, "Still, what does it mean?…I feel we have to believe in something, or we have to try to believe, or our life is empty…" Throughout the course of the play, in the face of the unknowable, the characters search feverishly, bravely and sometimes hilariously, for the meaning of their lives. Chekhov's classic "Three Sisters" is counted among "Uncle Vanya" and "The Cherry Orchard" as one of his greatest plays. He captured the shifting social circumstances with humor and an acute eye during a time of change in Russia's history. Despite the countless productions and scholarly papers, "Three Sisters" remains a story of existential puzzlement and grief. Poet and translator Randell Jarrell wrote, "the play is centrally about the tension between the meaning of life and its meaninglessness." According to McDonough, "The search for meaning in 'Three Sisters' is prompted by the suspicion haunting some characters--for others it is a conviction--that their lives and all their efforts may be meaningless." "Working so closely on the play for two years, I came to be astounded by the subtlety and suppleness of Chekhov's work; by the daring sexual heat and unabashed technical audacity," wrote Lanford Wilson in the introduction to his 1984 translation. "The play is forever deep, with startling juxtapositions of mood. No sooner does someone start to sing than they are asked to leave. If Andrei says life is disgusting, the old maid will enter in the next breath exclaiming, 'What a wonderful life I have!'" Theater Emory's production features actors Ashley Allyn, Raife Baker, Daniel Bayer, Elizabeth Benson, Teresa DeBerry, James Donadio, Bruce Evers, T. Brian Green, Bill Murphey, Gayatri Patel, Angela Porter, Gene Ruyle, Lawrence Salberg and Andrew Simon. Set and costume design are by Leslie Taylor, sound and lighting design are by Judy Zanotti. Alice N. Benston serves as dramaturg. ### Calendar listing: Theater Emory is the producing organization of Emory University and is affiliated with the Department of Theater Studies. It is a constituent member of the Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national association of nonprofit professional theatres, and a member of the Atlanta Coalition of Performing Arts. It operates under a seasonal agreement with Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. Note to reporters and editors: Digital photos in jpeg format are available. Call or e-mail Deb Hammacher: 404-727-0644 or dhammac@emory.edu. |
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