Chekhov/Tolstoy: Love Stories

See it if Malleson's adapt of two short stories by these iconic writers is only moderately successful enhanced by some solid acting & Shaw's staging

Don't see it if While capturing the tone of both authors fairly well (esp Tolstoy), Malleson is unable to translate this into an interesting dramatic format

See it if you’re a fan of Russian lit or interested in Chekhov’s pre-dramatic writing.

Don't see it if you’re in the mood for a great big dose of excitement.

Also I enjoyed this Mint double bill of stage adaptations of stories by Chekhov & Tolstoy. I should add, however, that simple adaptations of short stories to the stage lack the same kind of scenic engine that dramatically shaped scenes have. For the Chekhov half of the bill, this fact is mightily instructive. Its central theme is one to which Chekhov will return time & again, even after he abandons prose fiction for drama: Intelligent people get bored out of their minds when forced to endure an airless, non-eventful country life. The dialog is never short of interesting, but the few twists of plot, though striking, can’t quite push the action consistently forward. Chekhovian that I am, I was happy to see this effort. The dialog in the Tolstoy half is not near so crisp or natural, but the story, tinged (typically for this writer) with a blunt mysticism, held my interest throughout, though, once again, forward impetus was often lacking.... Read more Read less

See it if The Mint is always a winner. Nice view of the two greatest Russian writers. The male lead replacement in (Henry Clarke) was very good.

Don't see it if The Mint has a history of great sets but something is missing here.

See it if you enjoy Mint discoveries, fan of Chekhov, Tolstoy & Russian drama, want to see unusual studies about love, enjoy a bill of 2 one-acts

Don't see it if can't patiently endure a slow, excruciating curtain raiser to wait for a really good play, expect traditional love stories

See it if A landscape painter defends role in society before planting a kiss & a stranger w/ transformative powers answers 3 questions.Sung interlude.

Don't see it if "I have lost touch with decent people/Of course my life is tedious/I'm an artist/You are as lazy and idle as I am/Learn what dwells in man"

Also "I believe that what is beyond our understanding is a miracle." Two 40-min dramas."Peasants are fettered down by great change."... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see 2 plays adapted from Chekhov & Tolstoy short stories that show glimmers of larger, more well-known works. You want...

Don't see it if an almost (1 glaring exception) solid, classically trained cast. Don't see if you want 2 equally well-done adaptations. The Chekhov play...

Also is the better adapted & acted. The Tolstoy is clunky & has an, unusual for the Mint, an untrained classical actor who can't manage the 19th century style.... Read more Read less

See it if 2 short plays based on short stories; somewhat in conversation with each other (read the playbill - Chekhov satirizing Tolstoy's approaches

Don't see it if expect much from Malleson ("Conflict") who adapted the stories, Bank who directs one, want excellent acting all around, want the Mint's*

Also *excellent sets and costumes.(Not sure what they were going for with the English floral upholstery-fabric dresses with the Russian shawls in the first play.)
The Russian actor Sokovikov was excellent in the first play and acting was generally better in the second. Reed as Michael gives a moving although a bit didactic performance.
Hard to do short stories with the lack of character development etc.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to support The Mint which. usually does fine productions.

Don't see it if You want an interesting plot or you want good acting. Actors barely project. Two different short plays both of which should remain unknown.

See it if you admire the courageous writing of these great early 20th Century pre-Revolution Russian authors, interested in comparing/contrasting them

Don't see it if you’re not intererested in early 20th Century Russian economic class:humanist vs. spiritual tensions, prefer shorter/two act plays, orcomedy

Also The playwrite successfully captured the mood and details of the original stories. The actors’ delivery, attempting to recreate the Russian speaking pace and texture, sound a bit stilted, but the characters are realistic and very human.... Read more Read less

See it if You like weird old plays. You like kind of pervy guys getting with young women and angels doing weird things.

Don't see it if You'd rather see something contemporary.

See it if you'll enjoy 2 1 act plays based on Russian short stories as adapted by an Englishman around the time of WW 1 w/ pedestrian acting.

Don't see it if you'll dislike 2d play,based on a Tolstoy short story,because it's a straightforward Christian fable.The 1st act seems more modern in tone

Also The night I saw it, Henry Clarke substituted for Alexander Sokovikov.

See it if You're up for a flat Chekhov and an emotionally interesting Tolstoy, both generally well-acted but visually odd coming from The Mint.

Don't see it if You've no patience or expect literal Love Stories—political discourse and allegory rule here, clothed in flesh and sprit, respectively.

Also Though replacement Henry Clark is fine in the somewhat verbose Chekhov first act—a pretty light discourse on the role of the artist in a political world—the whole is pretty predictable and flat. Responsibility here falls to director Bank for not finding or creating chemistry anywhere onstage, most especially with the purported lovers.

Sound designer Jane Shaw fares much better in the second act Tolstoy, her directorial debut, creating some taut, interesting moments that suddenly get your attention, simply by the careful use of silence, blocking and judicious lighting. Her sound and original music add much, as well.

The remarkable Vinie Burrows raises everyone's game here just by being on the same stage, the cast much better than in the first piece. Unfortunate that the air of mystery well-presented by Shaw turns out to be a fairly simple morality play. Still, looking forward to more from Shaw.... Read more Read less

See it if you like to see everything the usually wonderful Mint Theater does - and especially if you are interested in anything by these 2 writers.

Don't see it if you are expecting the usual level of this company; this one is a rare misstep. Unfocused; not dramatically viable.

Also Vinie Burrows is mesmerizing even when doing nothing. It's almost worth sitting through these two plays that don't work just for the few minutes she's onstage!... Read more Read less

See it if Mint Theater completist stalwart.

Don't see it if Prefer full length plays. Hate the idea of adapted short stories.

Also I really liked The Artist, the Chekhov adaptation. Katie Firth is a cool mom, Anna Lentz the vapid beauty daughter, both in busy dresses. Brittany Liu is the plain workaholic daughter. Guess who the freeloader complaining landscape artist prefers. Disheveled, bearded actor previously playing him dipped. Replacement is more metro. Familiar meat and potatoes Chekhov. Love getting my fix. Stunning tree on the back wall. Lentz's flower crown may be straight off Rihanna's head. Set design in both plays dull and minimal. Tolstoy adaptation is not stage worthy. Hokey shoemaker's allegory has not aged well. Vinie Burrows is the highlight, a national treasure. Her work is exquisite. Awful casting of tramp savior. Mikel Reed way too contemporary for the Mint! Mint wants to be hip and woke, but he throws it out of whack. More whack than woke. The 800 pound elephant that nobody acknowledges. Burrows and Firth kept it afloat.... Read more Read less

See it if You enjoy plays adapted from historic writers. It is a bit slow.

Don't see it if You enjoy musicals or dramas.

See it if As a big fan of Mint Productions I was disappointed with this one. Not up to their usual high standards including the set design and acting

Don't see it if You prefer a faster paced play and expect the usual standard of Excellence usually provided by a mint production.

Also I was looking forward to seeing Alexander Sokovikov from the TV shows House of Cards and the Americans on stage. unfortunately he was out of the performance I attended. I'm looking forward to future mint Productions beginning in May... Read more Read less

See it if You're curious about lesser know pieces by these authors. Philosophical elegant writing.

Don't see it if Very slow and uneventful. Not a lot of depth or plot.

See it if into getting immersed in the pace of time gone by, wonderfully acted. What others here call dated felt soothgingly nostalgic to me.

Don't see it if cautious - these are not as satisfying as better known works by these authors.

See it if You enjoy philosophical and faith heavy plays, with two master storytellers' short stories adapted to short plays.

Don't see it if You prefer musicals or plays with lighter topics than man's state of being in the world and what he needs to live by: thinking and love.

Also I enjoyed this philosophy with a dose of faith dual play staging by two giants of theatre and literature. Although the common theme of the two plays was what men need to live a good life, the sharp bifurcation in the authors' approach to providing an answer and direction, made me wish each of these short plays were treated to their own staging.

The soliloquy heavy first play adapted from a short story by Chekhov, made me so curious about all I heard that I googled & read it. Had I staged it, I would have combined it with a present day take, say by a high school debating team to answer: what does humanity need today? Health-care or just leisure time to think. Both is of course the answer. But how do you bring 2 ships in the night to see and acknowledge each other's presence?

Tolstoy's short story was traditionally elegant and tackled humanity's need for love in all its aspects. Lead with love to satisfy the soul & good life. Love conquers all. This too deserved a modern day response.... Read more Read less

See it if you love the feel of Chekhov plays

Don't see it if you can't take slow-moving pieces/performances or were expecting a lot of romance (love in the title can mean many different things)

See it if you want to read the interesting program notes about Tolstoy/Chekhov friendship...better than the actual show which is slow, dated, boring.

Don't see it if Eww lonely 40yr old kisses naieve 16yr old. Yeah, thats the way it was but ickkk. Sloooooow direction. Uneven cast. Why was this show done?

Also I love Chekhov with a capital L! But I would’ve been happier just reading the short stories at home. Nice set, but uneven cast & painfully slow direction made me close my eyes and just zone out and wish it was over.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see two short plays (85 minutes total) by Chekhov and Tolstoy.

Don't see it if You require great acting to feel a play is worthwhile.

Also I didn't know either of these stories as Russian lit is not really my bag. The program is well-written, providing lots of backstory on the Chekhov/Tolstoy relationship, their views about helping the poor, and their radically divergent views about the function of art and artists.

The first (Chekhov) I liked better than the second. The understudy was in the painter and the count (in the second piece) and I thought he was good.

Less impressive were the young women. The actor who played the do gooder sister was weak. But the end of the Artist is surprising and the audience gasped.

Everyone at the show (2pm Wed) was quite old. One woman turned to me and said, afterward, "Of all the stories to dramatize, these would be about my last choices."

But I wasn't sorry I saw it. The Tolstoy story falls under the category of "magical realism." The "love" it describes is agape, love of one's fellow man. Tolstoy was a Christian, of course, and it's a Christian allegory.... Read more Read less

See it if You like short plays which have simple story lines which are easy to follow.

Don't see it if If you would rather see something more extravagant with a story line that challenges your mind and imagination.

See it if You like the works of Russian writers.

Don't see it if Classics bore you. Don't see it if you mind two plays back to back.

See it if you have to see everything, you're into absurdist theater, you love backdrops (loved the backdrop and that's about it)

Don't see it if you want the story to mean anything or you like to be transported into a world

Also Honestly this was maybe the worst thing I've ever seen and I wish I could praise any part of it, but it just wasn't good. The first play was boring, slow, and confusing. The second made absolutely no sense - a really bad parable is almost comical how bad it is.

I do think there is a way this could've been adapted to be okay, but this just didn't do it.... Read more Read less