Fortune's Fool had its Broadway premiere a century and a half after it was written (1848) and proceeded to win two Tony Awards for the highly acclaimed performances of its stars, Alan Bates and Frank Langella, as well as a Tony nomination for best play.

Set in the Russian countryside of grand houses and serfs, the play depicts the tragicomic events precipitated by the return of a young heiress to her family estate. As the members of the household bait and react to each other, the first act ends in a stunning revelation that will impact all the principals. In the bittersweet conclusion, everyone must pick up the pieces and move on with their lives.

Ivan Turgenev is considered one of the foremost Russian writers. He is the author of Fathers and Sons and Torrents of Spring. Mike Poulton has adapted Chekhov's Uncle Vanya for the Roundabout Theatre and Strindberg's Dance of Death and several other plays for the Royal Shakespeare Company.