The Cherry Orchard - Michael Urie

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Dianne Wiest, Josh Hamilton, John Turturro, Michael Urie Take a Swing at The Cherry Orchard, Opening Dec. 4
By Kenneth Jones
04 Dec 2011

John Turturro and Juliet Rylance
Photo by Carol Rosegg

Classic Stage Company's new production of Anton Chekhov's tragicomic classic The Cherry Orchard, featuring John Turturro as Lopakhin, Dianne Wiest as Ranevskaya and Daniel Davis as Gaev, opens Dec. 4 following previews from Nov. 16 in a run to Dec. 30 at CSC's Off-Broadway home on East 13th Street.

The cast also includes Ken Cheeseman (Pischick), Alvin Epstein (Fiers), Josh Hamilton (Trofimov), Slate Holmgren (Yasha), Roberta Maxwell (Charlotta), Juliet Rylance (Varya), Michael Urie (Yepikhodov), Elisabeth Waterston (Dunyasha) and Katherine Waterston (Anya).

The Cherry Orchard — one of the pillars of Russian dramatic literature and modern western theatre — is directed by Andrei Belgrader, with a translation by John Christopher Jones. The Dec. 30 close represents a one-week extension.

Turturro and Oscar winner Wiest are veterans of CSC. The famous play concerns landowners who don't act quickly or passionately enough to save their beloved estate. The price of human indolence and procrastination (in the face of progress) is at the play's core. Wiest's Ranevskaya keeps looking to the past while Turturro's former serf Lopakhin has a plan for the property.

Here's how Classic Stage characterizes its revival: "First presented in 1904 at the Moscow Art Theatre, The Cherry Orchard was Chekhov's final play, and with this new production CSC completes its acclaimed Chekhov Cycle, which has included The Seagull (with Wiest and Alan Cumming), Uncle Vanya (with Denis O'Hare, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard) and Three Sisters (with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Hecht, Juliet Rylance and Peter Sarsgaard). The latter two productions were directed by Austin Pendleton. With its Chekhov Cycle, CSC mounted these four masterpieces over the past five years, and gathered a dedicated constellation of actors, designers and directors, many of whom continued to return to work together on these remarkable plays." 

The Cherry Orchard includes scenic design by three-time Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto, costume design by Marco Piemontese, lighting design by James F. Ingalls, hair design by Paul Huntley and sound design and original music by Christian Frederickson and Ryan Rumery (MCC Theater's The Submission).

CSC is at 136 E. 13th Street. Performances play Tuesdays at 7 PM; Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 PM; Saturdays & Sundays at 3 PM. Tickets are $70 for weekday performances and $75 for weekends. For tickets and information, visit www.classicstage.org or call (866) 811-4111 or (212) 352-3101.