Casting and creative team information have been revealed for the Alley Theatre production of Anton Chekhov's Little Comedies, which will run October 6–29 in the Neuhaus Theatre.
A collection of one-act comedies, Chekhov's Little Comedies includes new translations of Swan Song, The Bear, The Proposal, The Wedding, and The Harmfulness of Tobacco.
Tony winner Richard Nelson directs the work, translated by Nelson alongside Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.
The cast is comprised of members of The Alley's Resident Acting Company. The Bear will include Melissa Molano, Christopher Salazar, and Todd Waite; The Proposal will include Elizabeth Bunch, Chris Hutchison, and David Rainey; The Wedding will include Elizabeth Bunch, Dylan Godwin, Shawn Hamilton, Chris Hutchison, Melissa Molano, Melissa Pritchett, David Rainey, Christopher Salazar, and Todd Waite; The Harmfulness of Tobacco will include David Rainey, and Swan Song will include Melissa Pritchett and Todd Waite.
“This production of Little Comedies by Anton Chekhov is both an experiment and a celebration,” says director and translator Nelson. “An experiment because these short plays are usually produced as short farces or even one-note jokes. However, we hope we can present them as one would Chekhov’s great plays, where characters struggle, are lost, unaware, scared—and are always recognizably human, and so like us. The ‘comedy’ of these ‘comedies’ then, is that of being profoundly human. As for the celebration, this production honors Alley’s wonderful acting company. These five plays, newly translated by Larissa Volkhonsky and Richard Pevear (the foremost translators of Russian literature into English alive today) and myself, were commissioned expressly for the Alley acting company, which has become the last standing acting company in the American non-profit theatre. These actors and the company’s continued survival are worth celebrating.”
The creative team also includes scenic designer Michael Locher, costume designer Susan Hilferty (Funny Girl, Wicked) and Camilla Dely, lighting designer Jennifer Tipton (Jerome Robbins' Broadway), sound designer Scott Lehrer (South Pacific), stage manager Krissy Larson, and assistant stage manager Kaylee Sarton McCray.
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