World Premier of THE REAL IVANOV Comes to the Lynn F. Angelson Theatre This Summer
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The Real Ivanov, a 100-minute adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s first staged play, Ivanov, written and directed by Chekhov scholar Laura Strausfeld, is making its world premier at the Lynn F. Angelson Theatre this August. The production will have a strictly limited engagement from Aug. 17 to Sept. 19, with official opening set for Aug. 25.
The play follows Nikolai Ivanov, who has become overwhelmed nad depressed. Everyone around him knows why, but he’s not so sure. The adaptation captures the central insight of Chekhov’s first masterpiece: misunderstanding one another is both comic and calamitous.
Sam Underwood stars as Ivanov, leading an ensemble cast including Sam Adegoke, Ivory Aquino, Spencer Aste, William DeMeritt, Jordan Lage, Sarah Long, Amelia Mason, Soph Metcalf, Hagan Oliveras, Kimberlee Walker, Aubyn Heglie, and Brendan Titley.
The creative team for The Real Ivanov includes Jiyoun Chang (set & lighting design), Ella Matza (costume design), Brandon Bulls (sound design), and April Kline (production stage manager). The production team includes Nina Korelitz Matza (producer), Sam Underwood (executive producer), Ashley M. Cowles (co-producer), and Regular People (general manager).
“From start to end, the 1997 Lincoln Center Theater production of Ivanov starring Kevin Kline punked me. It also changed my life,” writer/director Strausfeld said. “Chekhov revealed to me my own despair – and, for the first time, gave me hope that I could be living better. Despite my years of therapy, it was Chekhov who had the answers I was looking for. Chekhov is scripture to me. It’s not overblown to say I owe him my life.”
The Real Ivanov runs Aug. 17 – Sept. 19, 2026, at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater on East 13th Street in New York City. For tickets and more information, visit here.
