Anton Chekhov (Playwright)

Widely considered one of the world’s greatest writers, Anton Chekhov was born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, Russia. In 1879 he entered the University of Moscow to study medicine and graduated in 1884. He kept a strict writing schedule and continued to practice medicine for the rest of his life. In addition to his numerous short stories, many considered masterpieces of the form, Chekhov wrote over a dozen plays, among them the classics of Western dramatic literature Uncle Vanya, The Cherry Orchard, The Three Sisters, and The Seagull.

Richard Nelson (Co-Translator)

Mr. Nelson’s plays include The Gabriels (Hungry, What Did You Expect?, and Women of a Certain Age) and The Apple Family plays (That Hopey Changey Thing, Sweet and Sad, Sorry, and Regular Singing), which were produced at The Public Theater in New York, toured internationally, and filmed for public television. His other plays include Illyria, Oblivion, Nikolai and the Others, Farewell to the Theatre, Conversations in Tusculum, Frank’s Home, How Shakespeare Won the West, Rodney’s Wife, Franny’s Way, Madame Melville, Goodnight Children Everywhere (Olivier Award for Play of the Year), The General from America, New England, Two Shakespearean Actors (Tony Award nomination for Best Play), Some Americans Abroad (Olivier nomination for Comedy of the Year), and others. His musicals include James Joyce’s The Dead with Shaun Davey (Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical) and My Life with Albertine and Private Confessions, both with Ricky Ian Gordon. His films include Hyde Park on Hudson (Focus Features), Ethan Frome (Miramax), and Sensibility and Sense (“American Playhouse”). With Larissa Volokhonsky and Richard Pevear, he has co- translated Ivan Turgenev’s A Month in the Country, Nikolai Gogol’s The Inspector, Mikhail Bulgakov’s Molière and Don Quixote, and Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard (all published by Theatre Communications Group). He is an honorary associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company and a recipient of the Arts and Letters Award in Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the PEN/Laura Pels “Master Playwright” Award.

Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (Co-Translators)

Mr. Pevear was born in Boston, grew up on Long Island, and attended Allegheny College (B.A., 1964) and University of Virginia (M.A., 1965). After a stint as a college teacher, he moved to the Maine coast and eventually to New York City, where he worked as a freelance writer, editor, and translator, as well as a cabinetmaker. He has published two collections of poetry, many essays and reviews, and 38 books translated from French, Italian, and Russian. Ms. Volokhonsky was born in Leningrad, attended Leningrad State University, and upon graduating joined a scientific team whose work took her to the east of Russia, to Kamchatka and Sakhalin Island. She immigrated to Israel in 1973 and to the United States in 1975, where she attended Yale Divinity School and St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. Soon after settling in New York City, she was married to Mr. Pevear, and a few years later they moved to France with their two children. Together they have translated 30 books from Russian, including works by Leo Tolstoy, Mikhail Bulgakov, Nikolai Gogol, Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Boris Pasternak. Their translation of Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov received the 1991 PEN/Laura Pels Translation Award, and their translation of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina was awarded the same prize in 2002. In 2006 they were awarded the first Efim Etkind International Translation Prize by the European Graduate School of St. Petersburg.

Michael Michetti (Director)

Michael Michetti (Director) is happy to return to the Pasadena Playhouse, having previously directed King Charles III and A Life in the Theatre starring Hal Holbrook. He was formerly a founding Co-Artistic Director of Boston Court Pasadena where his directing credits include: The Judas Kiss, A Streetcar Named Desire, Stupid F**king Bird, Paradise Lost: Shadows & amp; Wings, and The Twentieth-Century Way, which was also produced off-Broadway at Rattlestick Playwright’s Theatre. Elsewhere he has directed the world premiere of Robert Schenkkan’s Building the Wall at the Fountain Theatre; District Merchants at South Coast Rep; Frankenstein, his own adaptation of A Picture of Dorian Gray, Figaro, and The Grapes of Wrath at A Noise Within; Kiss Me, Kate, Carousel, and Man of La Mancha at Reprise. He is the recipient of two Ovation Awards, and five L.A. Drama Critics Circle Awards for his direction as well as a special LADCC Award for Distinguished Achievement in Direction.

Tesshi Nakagawa (Scenic Design)

Wendell C. Carmichael (Costume Design)

Jaymi Lee Smith (Lighting Design)

John Nobori (Sound Design)

Amanda Leigh Jerry (Original Composition)

Amanda Rose Villarreal (Intimacy Choreography)

Nicole Arbusto (Casting)

Meredith O’Gwynn (Stage Manager)

Giselle N. Vega (Assistant Stage Manager)

Last Updated: May 2022

At this time, the following safety plan is in place at the theater:

– All patrons will be required to show proof of full vaccination at least 14 days after their final dose and a valid photo ID at the theater in order to attend a performance. Proof of vaccination will include a physical vaccination card, a picture of vaccination card, or a digital vaccination record.

– All patrons will be required to wear a mask fully covering their nose and mouth at all times while in the theater.

– Children 6+ will also be required to be fully vaccinated and provide proof of vaccination at the theater. Children under the age of 6 will not be admitted. While fully vaccinated children 6+ are welcome at the theater, we recommend contacting Patron Services for content advisories as some productions may not be suitable for young audiences.

– Guests who need a reasonable accommodation due to medical reasons or a sincerely held religious belief must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to entering the theater or an antigen test performed by a medical provider taken no more than 24 hours prior to attending the performance along with government or education issued Photo ID. All tests must be administered by a medical professional. At-home tests will not be accepted.

Pasadena Playhouse will continue to address these guidelines as we approach performances.

The Open Captioned performance of Uncle Vanya will be on Sunday, June 12 at 2:00 PM.

Pasadena Playhouse does not offer advisories about the subject matter for this production, as sensitivities vary from patron to patron. If you have any inquiries regarding content, age-appropriateness or stage effects (such as strobe lights or theatrical fog) that may affect patron comfort, please contact Patron Services during Box Office hours at 626-356-PLAY.

Children under age 5 are not permitted in any performance at Pasadena Playhouse.