To get the gist of Russian life during the 19th century, one can either read at least 500 pages of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel such as “Crime and Punishment” or watch “An Evening of One-Act Plays by Anton Chekhov,” which is currently showing in Seton Hill University’s Reeves Theater from November 10 to November 18, 2006.
The former can take weeks, while the latter is a fast, humorous and entertaining 95 minute show. “An Evening of One-Act Plays by Anton Chekhov” consists of four short and complete plays that intertwine with each other and question reality: Does life imitate art or vice versa?
By Mike Diezmos,
Photo Editor
To get the gist of Russian life during the 19th century, one can either read at least 500 pages of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel such as “Crime and Punishment” or watch “An Evening of One-Act Plays by Anton Chekhov,” which is currently showing in Seton Hill University’s Reeves Theater from November 10 to November 18, 2006.
The former can take weeks, while the latter is a fast, humorous and entertaining 95 minute show. “An Evening of One-Act Plays by Anton Chekhov” consists of four short and complete plays that intertwine with each other and question reality: Does life imitate art or vice versa?
The first play, “The Sneeze,” sets the stage for the other plays to follow. The characters in all the plays are introduced and are seen mingling in the most superficial manner: flamboyant and with smiles wider than the Joker’s grin from the Batman series.
Chekhov holds a mirror to reality. The audience participates and becomes part of the show. In a bold and confrontational way, the characters faces the audience. They are watching the audience, who becomes the French show.
Russian high society and social climbers are parodied, and of course Russian style wouldn’t be the same if someone didn’t die within the first five pages or five minutes. The play ends.
The stage crew changes the set deliberately in front of the audience. The audience sees how reality is manipulated. On each side of the stage, the gaudy frames act as doors. The baroque and golden frame, which stands in the middle of “The Sneeze” as the balcony, is turned around to form the balcony for a Russian writer/playwright’s home in the second play entitled “Drama.”
This play mocks the predictability of Russia’s dramatic conventions, for example establishing the characters with multiple names. The clock ticking, the cuckoo going hay-wired, and Murashkina’s histrionics drive Pavel Vasilyevich crazy. He ends up killing Murashkina.
The last two plays, “The Bear” and “The Proposal” are occurring simultaneously. The boundary between life and art is blurred. Luka, who becomes a stock character, appears in both these plays, which explore and satirize other Russian themes and social issues such as, property, marriage, decadence, and women’s rights. The outcome is wacky. One has to see it for one’s self in order to believe it.
In spite of the deaths in the first two plays, “An Evening of One-Act Plays by Anton Chekhov” ends with a champagne toast and a happily-ever-after. It’s a witty and hilarious show. The tongue-and-cheek approach gives one an understanding of 19th century Russian aesthetics. One can’t have an appreciation for the serious without the facetious. In Chekhov’s world full of social ills, laughter is the best medicine.
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