Chekhov: The Essential Plays

Biographical Note
Introduction by Michael Henry Heim
An Actor’s Guide to Russian Names and their Pronunciation
The Seagull
Uncle Vanya
Three Sisters
The Cherry Orchard
Notes
Because Chekhov’s plays convey the universally recognizable, sometimes comic, sometimes dramatic, frustrations of decent people trying to make sense of their lives, they remain as fresh and vigorous as when they were written a century ago. Gathered here in superb new renderings by one of the most highly regarded translators of our time—versions that have been staged throughout the United States, Canada, and Great Britain—are Chekhov’s four essential masterpieces for the theater.
“Chekhov, speaking simply and never otherwise than as an artist and a humane man, shows us in fullness and plenitude the mystery of our lives.”—Eudora Welty