John Lennon just rolled over in his grave, sir. I'd say Checkov might be more comparable to Journey, Chicago, or at best Pink Floyd but far, far too many people appreciate the Beatles to be compared to the most boring playwright that ever walked the Earth!

Chekhov(sic) isn't boring @1; bad productions OF Chekhov, however, can be extremely boring, because he's all too frequently treated with the same sort of blind adoration that Shakespeare was 100 some-odd years ago, what Shaw referred to as "Bardolitry". In reality, Chekhov is funny in the sort of bleak way that trends toward black humor. But many directors have had it drilled into their heads that the type of early 20th Century bourgeois Russian domestic situations he portrays must be played with a deadly earnestness that their instructors have mistaken for "naturalism". The result is a stultifying reverence for long, drawn out pauses, lingering glances intended to communicate myriad levels of "subtext" and attitudes of bored malaise bordering on ennui.

None of which I guarantee will be seen in this production, which, despite its bleakness, is nevertheless extremely funny, particularly for anyone who's ever worked in the soul-crushing environment of a modern office space.

Neff.

"And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage. You may be proud, wise, and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth as though you were no more than mice burrowing under the floor, and your posterity, your history, your immortal geniuses will burn or freeze together with the earthly globe."

boring.. really?

for the record, i love shakesphere as much as i love chekhov. an appreciation of nuance provides the foundation for such taste. i agree that w.s. and a.c. usually won't find each other on a single person's palate, but occasionally they collide.

"And I despise your books, I despise wisdom and the blessings of this world. It is all worthless, fleeting, illusory, and deceptive, like a mirage. You may be proud, wise, and fine, but death will wipe you off the face of the earth as though you were no more than mice burrowing under the floor, and your posterity, your history, your immortal geniuses will burn or freeze together with the earthly globe."

boring.. really?

for the record, i love shakesphere as much as i love chekhov. an appreciation of nuance provides the foundation for such taste. i agree that w.s. and a.c. usually won't find each other on a single person's palate, but occasionally they collide.