Chekhov's masterful last play, The Cherry Orchard, is a work of timeless, bittersweet beauty about the fading fortunes of an aristocratic Russian family and their struggle to maintain their status in a changing world. Alternately touching and farcical, this subtle, intelligent play stars the incomparable Marsha Mason.
This is an LA Theatre Works full-cast performance starring Marsha Mason as Madame Lyubov Andreyevna Ranyevskaya, Hector Elizondo as Leonid Andreyevich Gayev, Michael Cristofer as Yermolay Alekseyevich Lopakhin, Jennifer Tilly as Dunyasha (Avdotya Fyodorovna), Joey Slotnick as Semyon Panteleyevich Yepikhodov, Christy Keefe as Anya Ranyevskaya, Amy Pietz as Varya Ranyevskaya, Jordan Baker as Charlotta Ivanovna, Jeffrey Jones as Boris Borisovich Semyonov-Pischick, Charles Durning as Feers, John Chardiet as Yasha, Tim DeKay as Pyotr Sergeyevich Trofimov, and John Chardiet as Passerby. Translated and adapted by Frank Dwyer and Nicholas Saunders. Directed by Rosalind Ayres and recorded before a live audience at the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles.
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"I think this is a pretty good read. It is short, and the language is very understandable given the Russian translation. The only thing that tripped me up a few times was the similarity of some of the character names- I had to keep flipping back to the character list to make sure that I was reading it correctly. The story is very good and the characters are well developed."
— David (4 out of 5 stars)
" Deft. Subtle. Surprising. Wicked. It's old had to love this but it is still fresh. "
— Chauncey, 2/16/2014" The translation was very uprupt and I don't mean difficult. Characters were not developed, but that may be due to the play format. I kept going back to the first page to make sure who the characters were. I'm going to venture to say that the play format is what caused my confusion but I don't remember feeling this way with Death of Salesman. It was a good story and would have made a good discussion about the bourgeois and our current US economy, entitlement and lack of initiative to help ourselves emerge. "
— Ana, 2/13/2014" definitely not my favorite chekhov. "
— Melody, 2/5/2014" What I learned: sexual frustration as the source of every character's misery in this drama. What a wonderful thesis paper that would make! "
— Janine, 1/15/2014" I loved the symbolism and the characters, how clueless they were! It's funny! "
— Ren, 1/14/2014" My first flame in the fire of Russian Literature. Many thanks to a beautiful woman and amazing teacher by the name of Mrs. Dutrow - you will forever be synonymous with the beauty, complexity, sophistication and precision of Russian Literature. "
— Becky, 1/3/2014" I had the opportunity to see this play performed at Grinnell College, probably shortly before graduation, going because I had enjoyed Chekhov's short stories very much in previous years--or was it that the play inspired the reading? "
— Erik, 1/2/2014" I don't hate this play. A lot of people do. Mostly because they say nothing happens. I think a lot happens - you just have to look for it, and think about the implications of things, outwardly, not happening. "
— Molly, 1/2/2014" I didn't like it much. I think it was boring and sad...but that's my two cents worth. "
— Re3_becca, 12/22/2013" It was a tad boring, and I didn't like some of the characters - especially Trofidov. "
— Katharine, 12/19/2013" See the play. A nice intro to realism in drama, of which Chekhov got to early. "
— Johnny, 12/14/2013Anton Chekhov (1860–1904), the author of hundreds of short stories and several plays, is regarded by many as both the greatest Russian storyteller and the father of modern drama. He described the Russian life of his time using a deceptively simple technique devoid of obtrusive literary devices, thereby becoming the prominent representative of the late nineteenth-century Russian realist school. His early stream-of-consciousness style strongly influenced the literary world, including writers such as James Joyce.
Hector Elizondo is a stage, film, and television actor who was born and raised in New York. He has appeared in many Broadway productions, most notably in Arthur Penn’s Sly Fox. His many film credits include Pretty Woman and Runaway Bride, both alongside Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, as well as The Princess Diaries and Valentine’s Day.
Marsha Mason is a four-time Academy Award nominee for Best Actress and a two-time Golden Globe winner. She was nominated for an Emmy for her guest appearance on Frasier and for a Grammy for best Comedy Album in 2000. She is currently featured on the sitcom The Middle. Her Broadway credits include The Night of the Iguana (1996) and Steel Magnolias (2005).