The Moscow Art Theatre Letters - Hardcover

"The fragmentary history of the Moscow Art theatre in English is aided by this collection, containing previously untranslated correspondence." -"Choice "Benedetti, biographer of Stanislavski, has done an excellent job of piecing together a gripping offstage drama." -"Publishers Weekly "This extraordinary cache of letters only recently came to light in various Russian and international archives. Sixteen pages of black and white photos evoke dramatic moments in the history of this famed and influential theatre company." -"Playbill "Letters composed by the Art Theatre's many legendary collaborators . . . are clearly and vividly rendered into contemporary English. . . . an absorbing documentary history. . . . Students of modern drama will find considerable food for thought in this rendering of a theater company's progress from birth to maturity." -Anne Sharp, "Library Journal "It's the perfect form for a theatre book. The protagonists shout, weep, bellow, protest undying affection, plot behind each other's backs, and proclaim repeatedly that this absolutely, finally the end. It's as good as a play." -"The Globe and Mail

Moscow Art Theatre Letters tells the real story of the Moscow Art Theatre, from its origin at the turn of the century through its first forty years. Jean Benedetti presents the historical record first-hand in this collection of the letters of the main protagonists. Many are available in English for the first time--all will come as a revelation to Western readers.