Rivkala’s Ring
This play is included in the collection:
Play Description
Famously astute observer of everyday life, Spalding Gray receives a Chekhov short story in the mail, leading him into a monologue that confronts the fears that beset us.
Production Info
Cast: 1 total (1 male)Short Comedy (about 25 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
- Reviews
- About the Author(s)
- About the Book
- Special Notes
- Productions
Press Quotes
“Take seven contemporary American playwrights with highly distinctive voices and wildly differing approaches to the theater. Ask each to adapt one of Anton Chekhov’s short stories, which range in mood from the melancholic to the satiric — and back again … the results are incomparably delicious … when ORCHARDS is good — which is most of the time — it is very, very good, indeed …” —Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times
“The notion of asking seven contemporary playwrights to produce variations on themes by Anton Chekhov seems at first like asking for combination-platter theater … All of the playwrights use Chekhov short stories for a springboard — but some have jumped so far into the deep end that it would be more accurate to say that they maybe looked at his picture while they were writing … Whether you pick from Column A or Column B, ORCHARDS offers a superior menu.” —Megan Rosenfeld, The Washington Post
Author(s)
Spalding GraySpalding Gray was born in Rhode Island on June 5, 1941. He began as an actor in summer theatre and in time became a major influence in New York City's avant-garde theatre with the Wooster Group. It was here that he began to perform and write monologues. These hilarious, yet often sad stories of his personal life made him famous. The best known is SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA. Spalding also appeared in about 50 movies, and made occasional TV appearances, from Charlie Rose to The Nanny. But he first and foremost thought of himself as an author. He died in an apparent suicide in 2004.
Anton ChekhovWidely considered one of the world's greatest writers, Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, Russia. In 1879 he entered the University of Moscow to study medicine and graduated in 1884. He kept a strict writing schedule and continued to practice medicine for the rest of his life. In addition to his numerous short stories, many considered masterpieces of the form, Chekhov wrote over a dozen plays, among them the classics of Western dramatic literature UNCLE VANYA, THE CHERRY ORCHARD, THE THREE SISTERS, and THE SEAGULL.
Special Notes
If original stage producers credits appear in bold below, all licensees are required to include them in the following form on the title page in all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all advertising in which the full cast appears in size of type not less than ten percent (10%) of the size of the title of the Play:
Originally produced by The Acting Company
In addition, the following must appear within all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play:
by special arrangement with Broadway Play Publishing Inc, NYC
www.broadwayplaypub.com
Related Plays
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
A fantastical/political/historical exploration of life in the Soviet Union in the earliest dawn of Perestroika. In scenes ranging from the inner chambers of the Politburo to a secret chamber beneath Lenin’s Tomb to a medical facility near a radioactive disposal site in Siberia, SLAVS! considers the difficulty, the failure, and the abiding importance of Socialism and of ongoing efforts towards building collective societies and a more just world.
Production Info
Cast: 10 total (3 female, 7 male)Full Length Drama (about 80 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Contemporary Costumes
$15.95 Play Description
Richard Nelson's superb adaptation of Chekhov's classic heartrending comedy.
Production Info
Cast: 15 total (5 female, 10 male)Full Length Drama (about 100 minutes)
Single Set
Period Costumes
Play Description
Varinka is a free spirit in love with the older Byelinkov, the most proper man in town. But his inhibitions and worries about how he and Varinka are perceived when she boldly rides a bicycle about town threatens to unravel their impending marriage.
Production Info
Cast: 2 total (1 female, 1 male)Short Comedy (about 15 minutes)
Single Set
Period Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
Emily Mann brings Chekhov's masterpiece into the 21st century with bright contemporary language and a modern Hamptons' setting. In a world of appearance, money, business, and celebrity culture, the heart of the play is a story about the heartbreaking betrayal of children by their parents. With relevance, humor, and flowing, natural language, Mann's adaptation of challenges us to think about where America's culture is going.
Production Info
Cast: 9 total (4 female, 5 male)Full Length Comedy (about 90 minutes)
Single Set
Contemporary Costumes
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
One of Leo Tolstoy's most celebrated pieces of late fiction, ILYCH deals with the tyranny of the bourgeois niceties, the weakness in the human heart, living without meaning, and death. Ivan Ilych has spent his life chasing after wealth and status while ignoring his family. After a minor accident, it becomes clear that Ivan Ilyich is going to die. Contemplating his life, Ivan Ilych realizes that he has lived an empty existence as he finds himself totally alone.
Production Info
Cast: 8 total (2 female, 6 male)Full Length Drama (about 90 minutes)
Minimal Set Requirements
Period Costumes
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
Considered by many to be the greatest Yiddish drama, A DYBBUK recounts the tale of a wealthy man’s daughter possessed by the spirit of her dead beloved.
Production Info
Cast: 18 total (5 female, 13 male)Full Length Drama (about 160 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Period Costumes
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
A Chekhovian family drama, first staged in Russia in 1905. In a prophetic echo of the coming revolution, the play looks at the lives of the privileged intelligentsia and of the workers, advocating an alliance between the two.
Production Info
Cast: 16 total (7 female, 9 male)Full Length Drama (about 160 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Period Costumes
$11.95–$15.00 Play Description
Vanya and his niece, Sonya, work relentlessly to keep their meagre estate going. Sonya finds relief in her undisclosed love for Astrov, the local doctor. But all hope of relief is banished when their lives are invaded by Sonya's selfishly destructive father and his beautiful new wife.
Production Info
Cast: 9 total (4 female, 5 male)Full Length Drama (about 160 minutes)
Single Set
Period Costumes
$11.95 Play Description
“In the play I portray a disgusting, selfish, provincial fellow who for twenty years has been reading works on art but understanding nothing about the subject — a man who brings despondency and gloom to all those near him, who is not accessible to laughter and music — and who, despite all this, is undoubtedly happy.” —Anton Chekhov
Production Info
Cast: 9 total (3 female, 6 male)Full Length Drama (about 120 minutes)
Single Set
Period Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
In an imaginary, fantastical land a scholar arrives seeking to find a way to make as many people as he can happy.
Production Info
Cast: 16 total (5 female, 11 male, doubling possible, many bit parts)Full Length Comedy (about 130 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Period Costumes
$15.00–$15.95 Play Description
This literary masterpiece by one of the world’s greatest authors is brought to vibrant life in this new adaptation. Four estranged brothers unexpectedly come together in their father’s village, knowing that one intends to commit a terrible crime, but not knowing which of them will do it. Every fact, every motive, every belief about human nature, faith and redemption are questioned in this dynamic quest for truth.
Production Info
Cast: 10 total (3 female, 7 male)Full Length Drama (about 140 minutes)
Multiple Sets
Period Costumes