<DIV><p>Falling through endless days at an office desk, the disillusioned, aptly named Mr. Mann wins tickets to see Anton Chekhov's <I>Three Sisters</I>. By no means a theater-goer, Mann nevertheless attends the play and is soon transfixed by what he sees onstage?he recognizes in the sisters a yearning to escape their mundane, provincial lives. With Chekhov's characters and themes coming to inhabit the man's mind and life, <I>And Slowly Beauty</I> speaks eloquently to the power of art to transform lives.</p><p><B>Michel Nadeau</B> is an actor, director, and playwright who has long been active in Quebec arts and culture.</p><p><B>Maureen Labonté</B> is a dramaturge, translator, and teacher.</p><br></DIV>