Production Team

Translator: Paul Schmidt

Directors: Sarah Mosby & Alejandro Torres

Asst. Director (The  Proposal): Joseph Lerma

Stage Manager: Sophia Fin

Set & Properties Design: Richie Israel

Lighting Design: Connie Carranza

Costume Design: Kendall Owings

Video Design: Alejandro Torres

Poster Design: Richie Israel

Publictiy Director: Marinna Benzon

 

Teri Whipple as Yelena Ivanovna Popova

Julia Lienke as Luka

Joe Lerma as Grigory Stepanovich Smirnoff

 

Gino Rose as Stepan Stepanovich Chubukov

Lucas Alves as Ivan Vassilievich Lomov

Samanta Cubias as Natalya Stapanovna Chubukov

 

Original Run

August 16-18 & 23-25 2013

The Phoenix Annex

The Overcast Theatre returns for its second and final production of its 2013 season. In the company's first tackling of a work by Anton Chekhov, Overcast presents the hilarious vaudevilles "The Bear" and "The Proposal" for your absolute pleasure. 

 

The Bear tells the story of a widow named Yelena Ivanovna Popova, in her perpetual state of mourning, with her old serving woman Luka unable to persuade her to move on with her life or to simply go out and enjoy the sunshine. On the 7-month mark of her husband’s death she is unexpectedly visited by the loud, instigative, and boorish landowner Grigory Stepanovich Smirnoff. Smirnoff has not come for tea or conversation but for a matter of business. It so happens Popova’s late husband left an unpaid debt to Smirnoff that he absolutely needs credited on this day or risk losing his assets. Matters become tricky as Popova cannot immediately pay the debt due to her manager’s absence and her emotional state. Smirnoff being declined yet again from another IOU and in his desperation loses his patience and his manners. With this impasse comes a hilarious battle of the sexes, of the wits, and of the wills. All these elements combined produce a humorous, sharp, and energetic piece of Russian Theatre. This production will feature projections, music, physical comedy, and a wonderfully punchy script to leave you smiling all evening long.

 

“Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. 
Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then.” 
― Katharine Hepburn

The Proposal follows Ivan Vassilevitch Lomov, a stubborn landowner, prone to hypochondria, as he enters the home of his neighbor, Stepan Stephanovitch Chubukov, to ask for the hand of his daughter, Natalya Stepanovna. When the two "would-be" lovebirds begin to argue over things as trivial as a small plot of land and a pair of hunting dogs, hilarity ensues. Chubukov and Natalya gang up on Lomov, causing his anxiety to manifest physically, leaving him paralyzed and crawling toward the door.

Will Chubukov marry his Natalya off and finally get some peace and quiet?
Will the couple live happily ever after or kill each other in the process?
Maybe the two make better neighbors than lovers.