The Black Monk and The Dog Problem
Two Plays
David Rabe
- The
- Black
- Monk
- has
- been
- called
- a
- singular
- "collaboration"
- between
- two
- writers:
- Anton
- Chekhov
- and
- David
- Rabe.
- Based
- on
- Chekov's
- novella
- of
- the
- same
- name,
- Rabe's
- brilliant
- stage
- adaptation
- tells
- the
- story
- of
- Kovrin,
- the
- young
- philosophy
- student
- who
- returns
- from
- Moscow
- to
- the
- estate
- owned
- by
- Pesotsky,
- where
- he
- spent
- his
- youth.
- Kovrin
- and
- Pesotsky's
- daughter,
- Tanya,
- soon
- fall
- in
- love
- and
- plan
- to
- marry.
- But
- the
- appearance
- of
- an
- emissary
- from
- the
- unknown
- --
- the
- black
- monk
- --
- threatens
- to
- have
- a
- devastating
- effect
- on
- all
- of
- them.Trouble
- starts
- in
- when
- Teresa
- tells
- her
- brother
- Joey
- that
- this
- guy
- Ray
- did
- something
- to
- her
- with
- his
- dog
- in
- bed.
- Nobody
- seems
- to
- know
- exactly
- what
- happened,
- but
- they
- do
- know
- that
- somebody's
- got
- to
- pay.
- So
- what
- is
- The
- Dog
- Problem?
- It
- starts
- with
- being
- born
- into
- a
- world
- where
- the
- wrong
- thing
- said
- to
- the
- wrong
- person
- ignites
- a
- chain
- reaction
- of
- misplaced
- passions
- and
- galloping
- sentences
- that
- race
- to
- a
- deadly
- conclusion.
- The
- playful
- title
- is
- revealed
- to
- be
- a
- wry
- pun
- on
- the
- Cartesian
- mind/body
- problem,
- as
- Uncle
- Mal,
- the
- aging
- mobster,
- must
- face
- his
- turn
- to
- be
- the
- dog
- in
- this
- darkly
- funny
- play
- about
- men,
- women,
- sex,
- betrayal,
- and
- ghosts.Vastly
- different
- in
- their
- aesthetic,
- these
- two
- recent
- and
- highly
- praised
- plays
- embody
- all
- of
- the
- celebrated
- hallmarks
- of
- David
- Rabe's
- writing
- and
- art:
- unflinchingly
- honest
- and
- perceptive
- themes,
- starkly
- luminous
- dialogue,
- and
- the
- unsettling
- humor
- that
- have
- made
- him
- an
- icon
- of
- the
- American
- theater
- for
- more
- than
- forty years.
