A presentation of Neil Simon's broadway hit based on Chekhov's early short stories which so eloquently capture the comic and serious sides of the 19th century Russian bourgeoisie.

Loretta Young always started her programs in the same way, a dramatic entrance, wearing a stunning gown, and then a brief introduction to the night's play. Her programs were in turn serious, amusing, or touching, but always tried to be uplifting, to teach as well as to entertain.

When England's aging King Lear renounces his throne to divide his kingdom among his three daughters, treachery, madness and murder soon follow. After banishing Cordelia, his most loyal daughter, Lear is betrayed and cast out by her elder sisters Regan and Goneril. Meanwhile, evil brews at the Gloucester castle as Edgar falls victim to his brother's deception. As battle lines are drawn and backs are stabbed, Lear rages against a fearsome storm....

Cissie Brodie, a 16 year old girl, struggles to hold her family together after their parents die in the cholera epidemic of 1832. Her turbulent life takes a cruel turn after she is raped and left pregnant. Eventually she is forced to make a decision between two men who profoundly influence her life.

Mary Ingles is a Virginia homesteader whose family is suddenly attacked by a Shawnee war party. After Mary is taken captive, the leader of the war party is impressed by her courage and strength, and decides to make her his mate. Mary then makes the dangerous decision to escape the Shawnee village with another captive woman. Together they embark on a harrowing journey through the Virginia wilderness toward freedom and home.

After a shipwreck, twin siblings Viola and Sebastian wash up on the shores of Illyria. Viola, disguised as a man named Cesario, takes up service with the Duke Orsino, who is madly in love with the Lady Olivia. But Olivia is in mourning over her brother's death, so Orsino sends Cesario over as an emissary of love, except that Olivia falls for Viola!

Noel Coward is the definitive playwright of the early 20th century, contributing a robust repertoire of brilliant material. Playwright, actor, composer, and irrepressible socialite, Coward charmed high society in both London and New York during his heyday, and his work continues to charm audiences today with its urbane wit, sly humor and distinctive style.

Spans three decades from the early twenties to World War II in Charles Ryder's relationship with the wild and eccentric Sebastian Flyte and the aristocratic Marchmain family.