Theater Performance: Lady with a Lapdog, with Jokes and a Happy Ending

We invite you to join the Kennan Institute for a reception and trip to the summer resort of Yalta as we present an exclusive performance of Lady With a Lapdog, With Jokes and a Happy Ending, a comedic play based on the beloved short stories of Anton Chekhov performed by The Russian Arts Theater & Studio.

Interwoven throughout the play are ten of Chekhov’s most colorful anecdotes, including Fish, Death of a Government Clerk, Confessions, A Chorus Girl, Overspiced, A Little Joke, Daughter of Albion, Surgery, Elements Most Found in Short Stories, A Happy Ending and Life is Beautiful. Join the cast of nine colorful characters as they fumble through love, loss and the beautiful absurdity of life.

The Russian Arts Theater & Studio (TRATS) is an award-winning, not-for-profit 501 (c) theater company based in New York City. Founded in 2004, TRATS was created with the hopes of sharing the rich traditions of Russian theater arts, literature and history with contemporary audiences in America.

Since its founding, TRATS has gone on to stage numerous productions throughout stages in New York City, providing many critically-acclaimed shows including adaptations, new translations, short stories and plays---including works by Hans Christian Andersen, Mikhail Bulgakov, Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Maxim Gorky, Alexander Pushkin, Tennessee Williams and more.

Headed by internationally renowned stage director and master teacher Aleksey Burago, TRATS is currently based in the Upper West Side in Manhattan, where it regularly features both beloved and lesser-known works by Russian playwrights and authors. Additionally, TRATS has on-going acting training workshops open to professional and budding actors in its weekly Russian Theater Lab series, comprised of students from around the world.

The reception is from 5:00pm to 6:00pm and the performance is from 6:00pm to 7:30pm.