New York's Classic Stage Company, an off-Broadway Company that attracts actors with bog office magnetizing names is currently presenting a fine revival of Ivan Turgenev's A Month in the Country.
Typical of these long-ago Russian plays, there are plenty of interesting secondary characters with their own subplots-- in this case romantic interests. The most amusing of these is between the play's country doctor and a spinster, which lacks the sizzling passion of the Country Estate's beautiful doyenne. To wit a hilarious no-nonsense proposal which nevertheless insures that the Good Doctor has a fully functioning libido as indicated by his assurance that her "somewhat old-maidish" ways will be no problems since "in the hands of a good husband, a woman is like soft wax." <br><br>
I also liked this this extend simile in which the beautiful, Natalya tells her best brainy friend bored chatelaine of a Russian estate who falls madly in love with her child's tutor. She also has a flirtatious friendship with a friend Ratikin whose way with words she enjoys but that don't move her:
"You’re clever, but... your words are like lace – intricate and beautifully constructed. But you know how they make it? Lace? In airless rooms without windows, hunched over their work fourteen hours a day. Lace is lovely, but give me a drink of fresh water on a hot day any time."
Here's a link to my review of the production www.curtainup.com/monthinthecountrycsc15.html
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