First Annual New York Chekhov Festival To Open In NYC

Coming this spring, The Russian Arts Theater and Studio will kick off its 2017-2018 season with a tribute to the life and plays of Anton Chekhov in its first annual New York Chekhov Festival. Taking place inside the quaint Balcony Theater (original theater of Joseph Pabb of The Public Theater), performances will alternate between Three Sisters and Russian-speaking performances of Swan Song, starring legendary Russian actor Ernst Zorin of the Vakhtangov Theater and award-actress Gala Orlovsky (Prominent Artist of Ukraine Citation).

Seasoned Russian director Aleksey Burago stages both productions and will also present a free seminar on Anton Chekhov and the Golden Age of the Moscow Art Theater at The Jordan Center for the Advanced Study of Russia, New York University. Additionally, select performances will include talk-backs with cast members, creatives and special guests following the show.

The cast of Three Sisters features a diverse ensemble with actors Reanna Armellino, Ella Ayberk, Hazen Cuyler, Michael Donaldson, James Fordyce, Toni Goldman, Ariel Polanco, Matt Raines, Jake Robertson, Flavio Romeo, David A. Russell, Jo Anne Sellers, and Di Zhu. A tragicomic story about the decay of a privileged family grappling with the changes of a modern world, Three Sisters will play sixteen performances from Tuesdays to Saturdays at 8PM.

Playing in repertory is a Russian-speaking production of Swan Song, starring Ernst Zorin and Gala Orlovsky. Back by popular demand, Swan Song is a comical love letter dedicated to show business, paying homage to Russian theater, its rosy illusions, backstage romances, and battling egos. A satire intertwined with improvisations, dreams, and secret jokes that have survived countless generations at the stage wings, this delicious portrait of the world of theater will play on March 27th, April 3rd, 10th, and 15th at 8PM.

The New York Chekov Festival is headed by Aleksey Burago, Artistic Director of The Russian Arts Theater & Studio and a former protege of the world famous Pyotr Fomenko. Burago's past productions have played throughout Russia's stages to rave reviews, including the Hermitage Theater and Aleksandrinka Theater (Beyond Recognition), Moscow TV (Queen of Spades), Youth Theater (The Emperor's New Clothes, Stoned), Interatelier Theater (Fandor and Liz), and The Baltic House Theater (Camille). Among his productions in New York are Ah My Dear Andersen, Queen of Spades, On the Eve, The Master and Margarita, Uncle Vanya, The Magical Forest of Baba Yaga, The Seagull, Lady with a Lapdog, with Jokes and a Happy Ending and most recently, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment.

Despite working with a wide array of writers throughout his career, Burago says that his favorite is still Anton Chekhov.

"Inside the memoirs of Russian impressionist painter Korovin, Chekhov once said he wanted to create the same kind of theater as the paintings on his friend's canvas. All his life, Chekhov was obsessed with the idea of creating a new theater--one that would reflect real life around him, bursting with flaws, contradictions, humor and light. This is what attracts me to Chekhov." says Burago.

Ticket sales have opened for the two productions and can be found at www.russiantheater.org. Furthermore, patrons can visit www.3sisters.eventbrite.com (Three Sisters) and www.chekhovfestival.eventbrite.com (Swan Song).