MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. – The SUNY Orange Apprentice Players will present Anton Chekhov’s celebrated “Three Sisters” in a translation by Paul Schmidt on stage at the William and Helen Richards Theatre at Orange Hall on the Middletown campus of SUNY Orange during the weekends of April 12-14 and 19-20.

Generally acknowledged as being in the first rank of modern playwrights, Chekhov presented a new sort of drama in “Three Sisters” that found significance in the everyday lives of common people. It had a seminal influence on 20th Century playwrighting at a time when world drama was dominated by formulaic comedies and dramas. His close association with the Moscow Art Theatre and Konstantin Stanislavski was the foundation of his enduring reputation.

“Three Sisters” is a naturalistic comedy about the decay of the privileged class in Russia in the decade before the revolution. It describes the aspirations and discontent of the bourgeois Prozorov family—Olga, Masha, Irina, and their brother Andrei—Muscovites who were uprooted to the provinces 11 years earlier. The sisters are refined and cultured young women who struggle to find consequence in a life lived in the social backwater in which they find themselves. They dream of the past—the Moscow of their childhood—and identify it with fulfilled lives, oblivious that the source of their malaise is their investment in a social class that is being usurped by an aggressive proletarian culture. In short, they haven’t a clue!

Under the direction of SUNY Orange theatre professor David Cohen, “Three Sisters” will be performed on Friday and Saturday, April 12-13 and 19-20 at 7:30 p.m.; and on Sunday, April 14 at 3 p.m. There is no performance on Easter Sunday, April 21. The audience is invited to stay for a talk-back with the director and cast following each Saturday evening performance. 

Tickets are required to enter the theatre, regardless of age. Cash, check, or major credit cards are accepted at the box office, which opens one hour before curtain time. Ticket prices are $12 for adults; $10 for seniors, faculty/staff, and alumni; and $4 for students. Active duty military are admitted free. Student tickets are available at the box office only.

All other tickets may be purchased in advance online for a $2.50 service charge per ticket. For group prices (10 or more), call (845) 341-4790.

For more information, contact Max Schaefer at (845) 341-4790. For updates on all cultural and artistic events at SUNY Orange, visit “The Arts at SUNY Orange” Facebook page. The William and Helen Richards Theatre at Orange Hall (formerly Orange Hall Theatre) is universally accessible. Parking is available in the College parking lot at the intersection of Wawayanda and Grandview avenues.