Webb students brought two comedic one-act plays mimicking the style of Anton Chekhov, a 19th century Russian playwright, to life on the evenings of November 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Chek(hov) 1,2 offered a refreshing break from the past three seasons of melancholy musicals and plays, and the audience thoroughly enjoyed its comedic nature.
Ariel Benjamin (‘20) said, “[the play] is called Chek(hov) 1,2 like when you do a mic check and you’re like ‘check 1, 2’ and since the play has two acts.” The cast, however, often referred to the individual plays as ‘Hedgehog’ and ‘Carrots.’ It was written by a friend of Ms. Plumley, the fine arts department chair, and is meant to be a burlesque of Chekhov’s other works.
Some common themes in Chekhov’s work include frustrated dreams and unsuccessful expectations. Chek(hov) 1,2 uses lost love, especially in Hedgehog, to convey this idea, as the characters follow an ever changing love triangle yet are constantly disappointed by the outcome.
The Oxford English Dictionary definition of a parody is “a literary composition modelled on and imitating another work.” Based on the reactions of the audience, Chek(hov) 1,2 was a successful parody. During the approximately two-hour show, laughter constantly rippled throughout the audience members.
Xander Kong (‘22), one of the freshmen in the play, said, “I was in a theatre group before for like three years and I just liked the community in theatre. I came to visit [Webb] and I saw The Crucible and Les Miserables and I saw how cool and talented and nice the community was and that made me really want to join it this year.”
The theatre tech crew for the play did an excellent job as well. Garrett Goodrich (‘19), the only senior member of fall season theatre tech, said, “We thought there wasn’t going to be a set or any props until about two weeks before the show. We basically did the entire floor in one weekend.”
Although many students were unfamiliar with the works of Anton Chekhov, they were still able to enjoy the humorous aspects of the two plays. Sara Hagiwara (‘20) said, “It was very funny. I feel like the two plays didn’t really have a storyline. It was really random in my opinion.”
Despite the eccentric quality of the play, Webb students had a fun night out watching Chek(hov) 1,2.
