Gary Shteyngarts overtly Chekhovian novel ends in a distinctly nonChekhovian manner, with hope. However, the hope is dearly earned, as one of the country friends sadly does not survive the second ha

With a small but loyal Zoom audience, Dukes and Bagg propose TWELVE new series, and pick five, including a LISTENER'S CHOICE series. Throughout, they kibbitz, lobby, and respond to chatted questions f

Gary Schteyngarts 2021 pandemic novel is overtly Chekhovian, and the lads love it. A group of friends and family gather in the Hudson valley during the 2020 pandemic leading to betrayals, love triang

Bagg and Dukes watch Louis Malle's wild 1994 film that takes, as its subject, a rehearsal of Andre Gregory's..."performance" of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya. If that sounds convoluted, it is. Gregory a

Anton Chekhov's 1897 play is in many ways even more minimalistic and sad than The Cherry Orchard. Dukes once again struggles to imagine the three dimensions of the story, while recognizing the almost

UMB Theater presents Dr. Dukesimov and his old friend Baggya, commiserating about dreary life, and looking forward to the Upper Middlebrow LIVE Draft. That's coming October 10th, at 5pm PDT, and there

The National Theatre production glimmers with an excellent cast, including Zoe Wanamaker and Conleth Hill. Dukes finds that the performances and the direction/translation choices help raise the stakes

The UMBers sit down with a play that Bagg has read a million times and that Dukes is visiting for the first time. The lads discuss what this work is like for a first-timer and then put on their acting

After Dukes summarizes the plot of Beverly Hills Cop for Bagg, the UMBs get down to business. The second half of The Kite Runner fulfills its promises. Everything is excellent, but again, the lads fee

Bagg and Dukes havent read this 2003 bestseller, and confess to a little snobbishness about a book that is ubiquitous at airport books stores. Butit's really good! Despite being impressed by the nov