it ended great though...

After all of the b.s. yesterday, the day ended on a great note. I went to dinner with a friend to an Afghani restaurant that was incredible! I had never had this kind of food before, so I didn't know what to expect. We had an appetizer that was steamed dumplings filled with grean onion in a meat sauce. It was delicious. I then had the chicken kabob that was spiced perfectly and on a bed of rice that was so unusual it wasn't to be believed. It had a sweetness to it with raisins and sliced carrots on top. It was great.

But the best part was the iced tea. It was the most delicious spiced tea I've ever had. We didn't get a chance to ask what was in it, but our bet was that it was flavored with cardomam and natural sweeteners. I defintely will go back.

Afterward, we went to see a production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. It was a unique experience at Steppenwolf's upstairs theatre. I have only been in the main auditorium. This is an intimate setting with no stage but a space that is part of the audience. There may be 200 seats in the space and no seat more than 10-15 feet from where the actors are performing. The u shape of the seating allows for everyone to feel part of the action. We were even luckier being in the 2nd row.

Contemporary dramas are what most people go to see. When you see a performance of a classic piece, you realize how the contemporary and modern came from the work of the masters like Chekov, Shakespeare, Ibsen, etc. They made the present state of theatre possible.

I have seen most of Chekhov's major works - Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, The Seagull - and have always been amazed at the work he does on the characterization. You feel as if you know these people. You can sense their hopelessness or hopefulness, tragedy and happiness, hopes and fears. You sense the changes they are going through. You can identify personally with what they are going through.

In Chekhov's own words:

"All I wanted was to say honestly to people: 'Have a look at yourselves and see how bad and dreary your lives are!' The important thing is that people should realize that, for when they do, they will most certainly create another and better life for themselves. I will not live to see it, but I know that it will be quite different, quite unlike our present life. And so long as this different life does not exist, I shall go on saying to people again and again: 'Please, understand that your life is bad and dreary!'"

His works were all written during the pre-revolutionary period of Russian history [he died the year before the first revolution of 1905] and as such reflect the maelstrom that was about to happen with the 1917 revolution and the creation of the Marxist, Leninist & Stalinist Soviet Union. He saw what was happening and tried in his own way to understand the future consequences of all that was bad and dreary, with a foreboding, but not a depressing frame of reference.

The production we saw last night was extrememly well done. The ensemble cast was well matched and put together a more than believable portrait of the times of turn of the century Russians: the inflexible aristocracy, the up and coming doomed middle class, the intelligensia making the argument that the masses were the future, and the poor downtrodden who were to take control violently.

I was especially impressed with the use of Russian songs in the production as a means of lending extra meaning. The final song as everyone leaves the estate that has been sold was one of the most famous poems by Pushkin.

Я вас любил: любовь еще, быть может,
В душе моей угасла не совсем;
Но пусть она вас больше не тревожит;
Я не хочу печалить вас ничем.
Я вас любил безмолвно, безнадежно,
То робостью, то ревностью томим;
Я вас любил так искренно, так нежно,
Как дай вам бог любимой быть другим.

The translation:

I loved you once: this love has not yet faded,
Not perished altogether from my soul;
But let it not disturb you any longer;
I do not wish to trouble you at all.
I loved you hopelessly, entirely in silence,
First shyness and then envy tortured me;
I loved you so sincerely and so gently,
As may God grant another’s love you’ll be.


and life still goes on...