Love Among the Russians

“When they find out I write vaudevilles they will excommunicate me!” So lamented Anton Chekhov after he wrote his comedic gem “The Bear,” which, along with his farce “The Proposal,” forms a diverting and sparkling lunchtime entertainment. Years before he was a celebrated dramatist, Chekhov was a popular farceur, and in these two hilarious glimpses of love and courtship, we see, as in his later great plays, his affection for peoples’ foibles and his deep understanding of the human heart. The Shaw Festival presents these two works under the moniker Love Among the Russians.