PLAY OF THE DAY! Today's Play: THE SEAGULL by Anton Chekhov

During this time when productions all over the world have been put on pause, we are coming together to celebrate plays that have left their mark on theater history.

This week we will be focusing on the plays of Anton Chekhov.

Today's play, The Seagull!

The Seagull by Anton Chekhov was first produced in 1896. The play follows both the romantic and artistic conflicts between four characters: Writer Boris Trigorin, ingenue Nina, fading actress Irina Arkadina, and her son, the playwright Konstantin Treplyov. The play did not become successful until the 1898 production, directed by Konstantin Stanislavski. It became a turning point in modern theater.

The Seagull has been performed in countries around the world.

Uta Hagen made her Broadway debut as Nina in 1938.

A 1992 Broadway production starred Tyne Daly as Arkadina, Ethan Hawke as Treplyov, Jon Voight as Trigorin, and Laura Linney as Nina.

The Public Theater presented the play in 2001, directed by Mike Nichols, and starring Meryl Streep as Arkadina, Christopher Walken as Sorin, Philip Seymour Hoffman as Treplyov, John Goodman as Shamrayev, Marcia Gay Harden as Masha, Kevin Kline as Trigorin, Debra Monk as Polina, Stephen Spinella as Medvedenko, and Natalie Portman as Nina.

In 2007, The Royal Court Theatre staged a production of The Seagull starring Kristin Scott Thomas as Arkadina, Mackenzie Crook as Treplyov and Carey Mulligan as Nina, and also featured Chiweel Ejiofor and Art Malik.

Classic Stage Company revived The Seagull in 2008, and it starred Dianne Wiest as Arkadina, and Alan Cumming as Trigorin.

In 2020, Emilia Clarke made her West End debut in The Seagull at the Playhouse Theater in London.