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Michael O’Connell*, Sammy Rat Rios*, Jacob Coleman, and Štěpán Šimek

Chekhov's 3 Farces: The Bear, The Proposal, and The Ravages of Tabacco

Central Eastside

When

Feb. 20–Mar. 9, 2025

Thursday through Sunday, Times vary

Cost: Cost Varies

Where

21ten Theatre

2110 SE 10th Ave
Portland, OR 97214

The following description was submitted by the event organizer.

If you want to really understand Chekhov's major plays in the sense of what he intended them to be, namely comedies, the early one-act farces, which Chekhov called "Jokes," are essential.
 
Their comedic style is fierce, broad and impassioned. The characters are buffoons, yet they are also deeply human. Their idiocy is human, their struggle — as they proverbially slip on a banana peel over and over again — is human, and their eventual triumphs over the laws of human stupidity — however absurd and incomplete those "triumphs" may be — are human too. With that in mind, enjoy The Bear, The Proposal, and The Ravages of Tobacco all in one evening of crazy comedy.

Think you know Chekhov? Think again.

“In all my plays, I haven't introduced a single hero or a villain, but I couldn't spare myself the buffoons." – Anton Chekhov