Three Sisters

Powerhouses Maggie Gyllenhaal, Juliet Rylance and Jessica Hecht star in Austin Pendleton’s intimate, lucid and shockingly tender version of Chekhov's drama. There’s not an off note in the rest of the ensemble, either, which includes Peter Sarsgaard, Marin Ireland and Josh Hamilton among others. The play depicts an almost Beckettian endurance in the face of certain failure, and Pendleton’s actors know how to make melancholy persistence thrilling to watch.—David Cote