The Three Sisters

Anton Chekhov

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Three Sisters is a naturalistic play about the decay of the privileged class in Russia and the search for meaning in the modern world. It describes the lives and aspirations of the Prozorov family, the three sisters (Olga, Masha, and Irina) and their brother Andrei. They are a family dissatisfied and frustrated with their present existence. The sisters are refined and cultured young women who grew up in urban Moscow; however for the past eleven years they have been living in a small provincial town. Moscow is a major symbolic element: the sisters are always dreaming of it and constantly express their desire to return. They identify Moscow with their happiness, and thus to them it represents the perfect life. However as the play develops Moscow never materializes and they all see their dreams recede further and further. Meaning never presents itself and they are forced to seek it out for themselves. (Summary by Wikipedia)

The Three Sisters Cast:
ANDREY SERGEYEVITCH PROSOROV - Joe Spy
NATALIA IVANOVA (NATASHA), his fiancée, later his wife - Availle
OLGA - Elizabeth Klett
MASHA - Arielle Lipshaw
IRINA - Elizabeth Barr
FEODOR ILITCH KULIGIN,
high school teacher, married to MASHA - mb
ALEXANDER IGNATEYEVITCH VERSHININ,
lieutenant-colonel in charge of a battery - Bruce Pirie
NICOLAI LVOVITCH TUZENBACH,
baron, lieutenant in the army - John Fricker
VASSILI VASSILEVITCH SOLENI, captain - Denny Sayers
IVAN ROMANOVITCH CHEBUTIKIN, army doctor - Algy Pug
ALEXEY PETROVITCH FEDOTIK, sub-lieutenant - Raken
VLADIMIR CARLOVITCH RODE, sub-lieutenant - Elizabeth Klett
FERAPONT, door-keeper at local council offices,
an old man - David Lawrence
ANFISA, nurse - Ana
Narrator/Stage Directions - Mary Herndon Bell

Audio edited by Arielle Lipshaw (2 hr 21 min)