Tanghalang Pilipino?s Filipino adaptation of the Russian master?s ?Three Sisters? opens Feb. 19
ANTON CHEKHOV (1860-1904) WAS a great Russian short-story writer (one of the finest ever) and playwright who, along with Shakespeare and Brecht, is a favorite of our directors and translators.

His darkest play, according to critic Robert Brustein (Signet Books), is ?The Three Sisters,? which ?depicts the prostration of the cultured elite before the forces of darkness.?

The cultured elite here is represented by Andrei and his three sisters - Olga, Masha and Irina?who are transplanted from their native Moscow (which they idealize) and pining away in a dreary provincial town.

Andrei?s wife is the malevolent Natasha, who sets about systematically to destroy her in-laws simply by dispossessing them of their property.

It is this masterpiece of quiet horror that Tanghalang Pilipino has chosen to present as ?Tatlong Maria,? translated and adapted by Rody Vera. It is set in a Northern Luzon town, bailiwick of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1977, with the country in the grip of martial law. This is, however, only implied in the play.

The play opens at Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Feb. 19, 8 p.m., and will run for four weekends. US-based Loy Arcenas directs.

Dolly Gutierrez plays Marilyn (Olga); Mailes Kanapi is Finina (Masha); Angeli Bayani, Monette (Irina); Riki Benedicto, Teddy (Andrei); and Che Ramos, Erlinda (Natasha).

The military play a role in the play. In Chekhov?s time?late 19th century?the Russian military was considered refined and a part of the ?cultural rampart.?

Obviously, the Philippine military then (and now) was not like that, so the military in the adaptation has been transformed into a crew of high-tech professionals, a team of engineers building a dam.

The switch ?somehow proved to be interesting and appropriate,? Vera said. ?We noted that two of Chekhov?s plays, ?The Cherry Orchard? and ?The Three Sisters? quietly anticipated the revolution in Russia. As a backdrop, the characters didn?t necessarily address this imminent upheaval in Russian history, but it somehow gave resonance to the petty concerns of the character.?

The Russian Revolution, he observed, ?was a failed promise.? As was martial law, one might add.

For Arcenas, who hails from Cebu, the play is ?very, very close to the Philippines. I wanted it in Filipino. The sentiments are more easily conveyed, more naked in Filipino. Much of Chekhov is about class, the class system. You know, people behave and talk because they belong to a certain class vs. people who belong to a different class.?

Elaborating, he noted: ?That?s why I was very interested in doing Chekhov here, because the Philippines is very class-conscious. People behave in a certain way toward their maids, people who do not belong in a certain class.?

The director concluded: ?I mean, you can see it in Manila. If you belong to a certain college, you behave in a certain way. Not that you do it intentionally, but it?s part of your [upbringing]. Whether you like it or not, you grew up with it. That?s why to me Chekhov is very, very interesting, especially to the Filipinos. In a way, it?s like looking at ourselves.?