This collection includes seven short plays based on Anton Chekhov's short stories: THE MAN IN A CASE by Wendy Wasserstein, VINT by David Mamet, DROWNING by María Irene Fornés, A DOPEY FAIRY TALE by Michael Weller, EVE OF THE TRIAL by Samm-Art Williams, THE TALKING DOG by John Guare, and RIVKALA'S RING by Spalding Gray. The plays were commissioned by the Acting Company, and the volume is of particular interest to those concerned with both the short story and short play forms. Some of the plays are faithful adaptations of the original stories. Others take the original short stories as jumping off points and so are better characterized as "loosely based on." In all, these are fascinating short works. THE MAN IN A CASE by Wendy Wasserstein: 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. VINT by David Mamet: Mischievous bureaucrats play a card game (vint) using identity documents in their possession until they are caught redhanded. DROWNING by María Irene Fornés: A surrealist playlet in which a man performs suicides for a fee. A DOPEY FAIRY TALE by Michael Weller: A spoof fairy tale about a boy and his talking dog, Chatter, who go on a magical journey to recover his lost talent. EVE OF THE TRIAL by Samm-Art Williams: Set in Baton Rouge in 1919, the defendant of a criminal trial meets the judge who, unbeknownst to him, is to try him the following day. THE TALKING DOG by John Guare: While hang gliding in the Catskills, a young woman wonders whether the young man in her company loves her. RIVKALA'S RING by Spalding Gray: 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.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born on January 17, 1860, in Taganrog on the Sea of Azov. The son of a small shopkeeper and the grandson of a serf, he had to improve his station in life the hard way. In 1888 he was awarded the Pushkin Prize for the collection In the Twilight. This and the publication of the long story The Steppe marked the beginning of Chekhov's recognition as one of Russia's leading young writers. In the years following he produced his first serious full-length play, Ivanov (1888), as well as a steady stream of short stories.
