The Three Sisters is the third of Chekhov’s four major plays. Written in 1900 and first performed by the Moscow Art Theatre in 1901, it is a chronicle of the aspirations, dreams, hopes, frustrations, temptations, transgressions, compromises, and disappointments in the lives of the Prozorov siblings over a span of several years in a provincial town. The eldest sister Olga, 28, is a spinster school teacher. Masha, 23, a temperamental concert pianist carries on an affair with a dashing soldier, Vershinin, to escape a disappointing marriage.  Irina, still hopeful at 20, hopes only to return to life in Moscow to find true love. They dote on their brother Andrei, who falls off the fast track and gambles his way into debt after an ill-advised marriage to the scheming Natasha, who gradually takes over the household and cheats on him with his boss. A number of soldiers stationed nearby become frequent visitors and companions as well. Interestingly, several of the key characters are frequently mentioned but never appear on stage: Protopopov, head of the local Council and Natasha’s paramour; Vershinin’s suicidal wife and two daughters; and Bobik and Sofia, the children of Andrei and Natasha.  A landmark of modern theatre, the play is a subtle and powerful portrayal of everyday life fenced in by the limits of character and small-town reality.

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