Chekhov
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In these fresh, vibrant new translations of Chekhov's four greatest plays: Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and Cherry Orchard—the brilliant theatrical translator Curt Columbus recaptures the master's open-ended simplicity. Curt Columbus loves actors and his new translations of Chekhov's four major plays are his gift to them. These are wonderfully actable, clear, and concise, and Columbus has perfectly captured Chekhov's unique blend of comic and tragic sensibilities.—Robert Falls, Artistic Director, Goodman Theatre.Library JournalHere, two master playwrights make encore appearances. Columbus, associate director of the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago, offers new translations of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard, giving audiences a genuine theatrical experience rather than a guided tour through a museum. These are "actorly" texts, i.e., they are easy to read and recite. Previous translations, though (mostly) of high literary quality, were deeply rooted in the scholar's garden; Columbus, however, has gone a long way toward pruning the text and allowing the playwright's lively and engaging dialog to shine through. The introduction describes the process of translation and Columbus's approach to production. Recommended for libraries of all types. Less engaging are the 13 previously unpublished one-act plays of Williams, which editors Moschovakis and Roessel-collaborators on The Collected Poems of Tennessee Williams-exhumed from the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center (Austin, TX) and the Department of Special Collections at UCLA's University Research Library. Granted, this anthology embodies the youthful Williams, only hinting at the mature playwright to come, yet it's hard to read some of the plays without thinking that they amount to bad Hemingway. Nevertheless, university libraries supporting theater programs will want to purchase this once the amateur performance rights become available, as will holders of New Directions' The Theatre of Tennessee Williams.-Larry Schwartz, Minnesota State Univ. Lib., Moorhead Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
