KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 3, 2017

The Theatre and Performance Studies department will bring turn-of-the-century Russia to the Stillwell Theater March 16.

Written by Anton Chekhov in 1901, Three Sisters was originally performed in Russian. It has been translated into modern American English, and the actors do not use dialects, though the setting is the same as the original play. Kennesaw State University’s production is directed by Artistic Director and Department Chair Rick Lombardo.

“I think of Three Sisters as one of the great plays of modern drama,” Lombardo said. “It’s really an examination of how life happens and how life can divert us from the things that we think are most important.”

Lombardo said that the timeless themes in the show feel particularly poignant in our society today, given the social and political unrest we are currently experiencing.

“This play is set in a time with this huge upheaval, and people don’t quite know what’s about to happen,” Lombardo said. “Core values are being questioned. As we’ve been working on the play, we’ve been thinking, ‘This feels like now!’”

The cast of 14 theatre and performance studies majors ranges from freshmen to graduating seniors. As the freshmen prepare to perform at KSU for the first time, several seniors must say goodbye to the Stillwell stage after many years.

Three Sisters will be senior Danny Crowe’s 13th and final performance at KSU. Crowe plays the role of Vershinin.

“This character kind of embodies what it’s like to find a home and have to leave it,” Crowe said. “So this performance is sort of my love letter to the department and the family that I have found here. It’s been an incredible time.”

“Three Sisters” runs in the Stillwell Theater March 16-26, Thursdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m.

Chandler Smith, KSU Sentinel