Play Audiobook Sample
The Cherry Orchard Audiobook
Play Audiobook Sample
(3.00) - 10,499 listener ratings
Quick Stats About this Audiobook
Total Audiobook Chapters:
Longest Chapter Length:
Shortest Chapter Length:
Average Chapter Length:
Audiobooks by this Author:
Publisher Description
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.
Download and start listening now!
"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)
The Cherry Orchard Listener Reviews
-
" 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, 12/14/2013 -
" there wasn't a single character that i actually liked. the closest i got was to pitying firs. "
— Laura, 10/25/2013 -
" So apparently, this is supposed to be really funny in Russian. I don't see how. I guess I missed the point entirely, then. Still, I loved it and thought it was heartbreaking and beautiful. Ah, Russians. "
— Casey, 4/15/2013 -
" Funny and sad and thought-provoking, all at once. "
— Angela, 3/29/2013 -
" Not my favorite work by my favorite playwright, but has all the elements of unfulfilled longing and failures at listening requisite in his plays. I saw Alfred Molina perform it on the stage and fell in love! "
— Ali, 10/11/2012 -
" I guess I'll soon re-read it within the context of Chekhov's complete plays .. "
— Ù…Øمد, 7/28/2012 -
" Classic, flawless stroy. "
— Monaansari27, 6/25/2012 -
" Another Chekhov classic! Although not one of my favourites it was still very good. "
— Alisha, 5/30/2012 -
" this book is nice with a very slow rythme, no excitement but you may enjoy. "
— Samar, 5/26/2012 -
" This is over-rated. "
— Bradley, 4/2/2012 -
" Didn't really understand the whole thing, due to the language and also the cultural references to Russia then that peppered the play. But it was interesting to read through the play and think of how issues such as class differences would affect the interactions between the characters of the play. "
— Max, 3/21/2012 -
" AHHH Chekhov. Just depressing enough, with a hint of determination and a smattering of vegetarian-esque philosophy. Hullo, new life! "
— Katlyn, 1/30/2012 -
" It's brilliant! I've not only read it once, I've read it many times. Every year I read it at least once. "
— Sherry, 5/22/2011 -
" Oh Checkov. I was grading the papers of students who read this book. I have read it once, but I couldn't remember it well enough, so I reread it. Now I know why the details just wouldn't stick: Nothing Happens! "
— Wendy, 4/13/2011 -
" 2400 Saw the play at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis in the late 1960's. "
— Lily, 4/7/2011 -
" I read this and then saw it and I loved it both ways. "
— Kari, 3/9/2011 -
" I give it three stars because, even though I really hate Chekhov, I can appreciate the beauty of his language. But I still hate Chekhov, and if that makes me an infidel, I guess I'll find a way to live with it. "
— Christine, 3/3/2011 -
" complicated affairs by the blossoming cherry orchard. "
— Febrianti, 2/24/2011 -
" It's brilliant! I've not only read it once, I've read it many times. Every year I read it at least once. "
— Sherry, 2/16/2011 -
" Boring torture. Reading it felt like self-injurous behavior (which I am not into) so I stopped. One of the very few books that I could not finish reading. "
— Teji, 12/25/2010 -
" I really liked this edition of this amazing play (which you really have to see performed) because it has supplemental material such as details on Chekhov's revisions and a connected short story by him. "
— Rachel, 12/21/2010 -
" AHHH Chekhov. Just depressing enough, with a hint of determination and a smattering of vegetarian-esque philosophy. Hullo, new life! "
— Katlyn, 11/27/2010 -
" I liked the story even though I had to trudge through it at times. The complexities of human relationships is interestingly presented. "
— Mckinley, 10/6/2010 -
" What has been deemed a "comedy" was a massive let down. The characters were bland and leaves a tasteless image of women. Weak women. "
— Coral, 9/25/2010
About the Authors
Anton 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.
About the Narrators
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.
Shannon Cochran is an actress and director, whose work includes the First National Tour of the Pulitzer Prize–winning play August: Osage County, a film opposite Kathleen Turner called The Perfect Family, and Last Days, a radio play for the BBC. She has performed and directed with LA Theatre Works, an organization producing radio plays for NPR, for fifteen years.
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).
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.