In January, the Obie-winning Mint Theater Company will return Off-Broadway with the world premiere of Chekhov/Tolstoy: Love Stories. The evening will see back-to-back presentations of two short plays by Miles Malleson—An Artist’s Story and What Men Live By—each an adaptation of a story by Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy, respectively.

Chekhov/Tolstoy: Love Stories will begin performances at Theatre Row January 23, co-directed by Mint's artistic director Jonathan Bank and his longtime collaborator, Jane Shaw (who has designed sound and composed music for 30 Mint shows), making her directorial debut.

The cast will be made up of Vinie Burrows (Mies Julie), Katie Firth (A Day by the Sea), Anna Lentz (The Diary of Anne Frank), Sam Morales (Measure for Measure), J. Paul Nicholas (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), Malik Reed (The Bacchae), and Alexander Sokovikov (Uncle Vanya).

Chekhov’s An Artist’s Story follows Nicov, a painter who encounters two very different women while on a visit to the country. The flirtatious Genya flatters the artist with questions about miracles and the eternal, while her pragmatic sister Lidia ridicules the artist, questioning the necessity of landscapes in a world where people are poor and hungry. Together, they bring him to a new understanding of himself.

A mystical tale of love and redemption, Tolstoy’s What Men Live By is the story of a Russian peasant couple whose lives intersect with a mysterious stranger with odd ways and a brilliant smile.

Chekhov/Tolstoy: Love Stories will have scenic design by Roger Hanna, costume design by Oana Botez, lighting design by Matthew Richards, sound design by Jane Shaw, and prop design by Natalie Carney. Casting by Stephanie Klapper, CSA.