On holiday in an idyllic forest retreat, Gorky's "summer people" ebb and flow, arguing, flirting, laughing, gossiping, complaining - until it becomes all too clear that they can't ever really get away from the frantic bustle of modern city life. Though they fish, play chess, picnic, get drunk, put on amateur theatricals, fall in love, even shoot themselves - the arguing is the main thing and it never ends. What they argue about is what we aruge about now, too; how we should be living our lives, or what sort of people we should be. In The Summer People, Maxim Gorky sets in motion an entire community, bringing it to life and then, with unflinching tenderness, dissecting it. The issues of this play are as significant and pertinent now as they were at the premiere, when the conservative intellectuals hiss the playwright. It was a standoff; Gorky came out on stage and hissed back. Two months later, however, the argument of the play spilled into the streets: the revolution of 1905 began, Gorky wrote his next play in Tsarist prison! After his death in 1936, Gorky was practically canonized as the father of Soviet literature. The reputation of the prolific novelist, essayist, poet, and playwright has fared less well outside Russia, and of his 15 known plays, only The Lower Depths is regularly performed. That is a shame, because, as this graceful version of Gorky's third professionally produced play demonstrates, Gorky was a passionate, perceptive writer, here following the example of his mentor Anton Chekhov in painting a tragicomic portrait of Russia's dispirited, disaffected upper class. The play is not perfect--far from it. Gorky's political loyalties are annoyingly obvious, and he can't resist a little preaching on his radical opinions. Still, there is something horribly fascinating about watching Gorky's characters brood and moan and argue away the summer as, in the distance, the revolution that will wipe away their way of life can just be descried. Jack Helbig Nicholas Saunders, actor and director, has appeared in 19 Broadway shows and hundreds of television programs. A native Russian, Mr. Saunders has had a parallel career in the Russian language field, holding the position as Production and Presentation Manager of the Russian Department at Radio Liberty. Frank Dwyer, formerly a member of such classical companies as the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center and CSC Repertory Theater, is currently a member of the Antaeus Company at the Taper.