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Overview

Synopsis

The sun is shining, birds are singing, servants are frolicking in the orchard, but melancholy widow Elena Ivanovna Popova walls herself up in her home, refusing heed her footman Luka’s advice to rejoin the living as she mourns her much beloved, yet faithless, husband. When Grigory Stepanovitch Smirnov arrives to collect on a debt from her late husband, desperate with urgency to make his own mortgage payment on time, she tries to put him off until her steward returns from town, pleading a lack of cash and a lack of inclination to deal with money matters on the seven-month anniversary of her loss. Smirnov, full of rage at debt dodgers in general and silly, sentimental female delicacy in particular, refuses to leave, and a battle of wills and battle of the sexes ensues. Will it end with a duel, a heart attack, or a wedding? In Anton Chekhov’s comedic one-act The Bear (subtitled “A Joke in One Act, or, The Boor”), two fierce, passionate, ridiculous individuals come to know themselves, and each other, in the course of an afternoon and an argument.

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
Number of Acts
1
First Produced
1888
Genres
Comedy
Settings
Period, Simple/No Set, Unit/Single Set
Time & Place
Popova’s House, the countryside, Russia, 1800s, 1880s
Cast Size
small
Licensor
None/royalty-free
Ideal For
College/University, Community Theatre, High School, Professional Theatre, Small Cast, Includes Adult Characters

Context

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Plot

Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Elena Ivanovna Popova

Lead

Female

Spoken

Grigory Stepanovitch Smirnov

Lead

Male

Spoken

Luka

Either Gender

Songs

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A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.

Monologues

All monologues are the property and copyright of their owners.. Monologues are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this monologue, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

Key Terms

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Videos

Quizzes

Themes, Symbols & Motifs

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Quote Analysis

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