Anton Chekhov's The Seagull with television and stage actress Mariette Hartley closes March 12 at San Diego's Old Globe. The new translation by Oscar and Tony-winning writer Tom Stoppard ("Shakespeare in Love") began performances Feb. 5 and opened Feb. 10. Old Globe artistic director Jack O'Brien directs.

Hartley, leading the cast as Irina Arkadina, is a six-time Emmy nominee who has appeared on TV in "Caroline in the City," "The Rockford Files," "Star Trek" and "The Incredible Hulk," among others. Her stage credits include Manhattan Theatre Club's Sylvia and national tours of The Sisters Rosensweig and The Trojan Women, both of which earned her Drama Logue Awards.

Also in the cast are Megan Follows (Anne from cable TV's "Anne of Green Gable" series) as Nina, John Getz as Trigorin, Scott Parkinson as Treplev, Jonathan McMurtry as Sorin, Julian Gamble (recently Old Max in the Old Globe's How the Grinch Stole Christmas) as Shamraev, Arnie Burton as Medvedenko, Marion Mercer as Polina, Tom Ramirez as Dorn and Erika Rolfsrud as Masha.

Designing the show are David Ledsinger (sets), Chris Parry (lighting), Robert Morgan (costumes) and Jeff Ladman (sound). Joel Rosen is the stage manager.

The Seagull, one of Chekhov's early plays, centers on the relationships formed and destroyed by Arkadina, a famous actress who trails around a writer-lover, who is, in turn, despised by her writer son. Both men are interested in Nina, a young actress, whose one ambition is to be a great woman of the theatre like Arkadina. The Seagull was last performed at the Old Globe in 1978 in a production directed by Craig Noel. Tickets are $42-$23 and available by calling the box office at (619) 239 2255. The Old Globe is located inside San Diego's Balboa Park and on the web at http://www.oldglobe.org.

-- By Christine Ehren