Plot

Nearly a thousand miles away from their beloved Moscow, Chekhov's Three Sisters live in virtual exile. Olga, a schoolmistress, attempts to support her siblings and the home that is the sole legacy of their late father.

Olga, Masha and Irina Prozoroff (Louise Purnell) lead lonely and purposeless lives following the death of their father who had commanded the local army post. Olga attempts to find satisfaction in teaching, but secretly longs for a home and family. Masha, unhappy with her marriage to a timid schoolmaster, falls hopelessly in love with married Colonel Vershinin. Irina works in the local telegraph office, but longs for gaiety. Their sense of futility is increased by their brother's marriage to Natasha, a coarse peasant girl. She gradually encroaches on the family home until even the private refuge of the sisters is destroyed. They dream of starting a new life in Moscow, but are saddled with the practicalities of their quiet existence. Despite their failures, they resolve to seek some purpose and hope when the army post is withdrawn from the town.—alfiehitchie

In a small Russian town at the turn of the century, three sisters - Olga, Irina (Louise Purnell) and Masha - and their brother Andrei live, but dream daily of their return to their former home in Moscow, where life is charming, stimulating and meaningful. But for now, they exist in a malaise of dissatisfaction. Soldiers from the local military post provide them some companionship and society, but nothing can suffice to replace Moscow in their hopes. Andrei marries a provincial girl, Natasha, and begins to settle into a life of much less meaning than he had hoped. Natasha begins to run the family her way. Masha, though married, yearns for the sophisticated life and begins a dalliance with Vershinin, an Army Colonel with a sick and suicidal wife. Even Irina, the freshest, most optimistic of the sisters, begins to waver in her dreams until, finally, tragedy strikes.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>