FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Cindy Moran,
Public Relations Director, 414-224-1761
April 1, 2009
A CAPTIVATING TALE OF LOVE AND LOSS IN A CHANGING
WORLD
THE CHERRY ORCHARD
By Anton Chekhov
A version by Tom Murphy
Directed by Ben Barnes
Made possible in part by the generous support of:
Quadracci Powerhouse Theater
Previews: April 14, 15 and 16, 2009 Opens: April
17, 2009 Closes: May 10, 2009
Set in 1904 on the edge of the Russian Revolution, this bittersweet
and haunting comedy is Chekhov’s final play, a masterpiece
about a rapidly changing world and a way of life on the brink of
destruction. With fortunes fading fast and the auction of their
estate looming on the horizon, an impoverished Russian family is
uncertain of what the future will bring. Tickets can be
purchased in person at The Rep Ticket Office at 108 East Wells
Street, or by telephone at 414-224-9490. Tickets can also be purchased
online 24/7 at milwaukeerep.com.
Once a woman of great
wealth, Madame Lyubov Ranyevskaya now faces the daunting auction
of her family’s estate. Despite her
mounting debts, she is preoccupied by romantic prospects for her
daughters, Anya and Varya, and the constant stream of telegrams
being sent by her abusive ex-lover. As a mere distraction from
her financial woes, Madame Ranyevskaya insistently maintains her
ever-extravagant lifestyle as the jeopardized cherry orchard takes
a backseat to her folly.
When the state of her cherry orchard and
personal finances appear unmanageable, businessman Yermolay Lopakhin
enters the scene with a foolproof plan to save the estate. By converting
the land into a sea of summer cottages, Ranyevskaya and her family
are to live on the land while collecting payment from the property’s
renting space. There is but one catch: the cherry orchard must
be demolished. As fond memories, family pride and hope for a miracle
tug at her heart, Ranyevskaya holds out on Lopakhin’s proposal.
The destiny of the estate hangs in limbo until the day of the auction.
When the future of the cherry orchard is sharply decided, who will
be the highest bidder?
“It’s a story that rings true for many of us as we
ponder the challenges of adjusting our lifestyles to stay afloat
during this economic crisis,” said THE CHERRY ORCHARD Literary
Office Support Member Laura Lynn MacDonald. “Some of the
characters you’re about to meet are caught in a financial
landslide that may at times remind you of the fallen tycoons on
the evening news and the longing many of us feel for the bull markets
of years ago.”
Playwright Anton Chekhov was
born in Taganrog, Russia in 1860 and endured a troubling childhood.
While attending grammar school at the age of 16, Chekov watched
his father’s
business fail. His family declared bankruptcy and lost their home
to a local bureaucrat. When the family moved away to Moscow, Chekhov
separated from them and supported himself in order to pursue his
education. He attended the University of Moscow and graduated with
a degree in medicine. While working in the medical field, Chekhov
began writing short comics for local newspapers. He also wrote
a number of one-act plays and short stories. His first full-length
play, IVANOV, was finished in 1887 and followed by THE WOOD DEMON
(later revised and re-named UNCLE VANYA) in 1888 and THE SEAGULL
in 1897. THE SEAGULL was performed at the Moscow Art Theatre and
was Chekhov’s first major success.
Chekhov eventually channeled
his youthful hardships as inspiration for his most famous works,
including the short story “Late
Blooming Flowers” and his final play THE CHERRY ORCHARD.
The first production of THE CHERRY ORCHARD was directed by Constantin
Stanislavsky, the famous director of the Moscow Art Theatre. Stanislavsky
preferred the intensity and honesty of Chekhov’s realism
to the grand Russian melodramas that were popular at the time.
Chekhov always defined his plays as comedies that delved into Russian
society to expose its bleak yet absurd infrastructure. He actually
instructed audiences to “have a look at yourselves and see
how bad and dreary your lives are . . .” in hopes that they
would work towards improving life in Russia. Remaining ever-familiar
with the disadvantages of the lower Russian class, Chekhov died
of tuberculosis at the young age of 44.
Playwright/adapter Tom Murphy is
a prolific Irish dramatist. His plays include: ON THE OUTSIDE (with
Noel O’Donoghue),
A WHISTLE IN THE DARK, A CRUCIAL WEEK IN THE LIFE OF A GROCER’S
ASSISTANT, FAMINE, THE MORNING AFTER OPTIMISM, ON THE OUTSIDE,
THE SANCTUARY LAMP, EPITAPH UNDER ETHER (a compilation from the
works of JM Synge), THE BLUE MACUSHLA, THE INFORMER (from the novel
by Liam O’Flaherty), CONVERSATIONS ON A HOMECOMING, THE GIGLI
CONCERT, BAILEGANGAIRE, A THIEF OF CHRISTMAS, TOO LATE FOR LOGIC,
THE PATRIOT GAME, SHE STOOPS TO FOLLY (from The Vicar of Wakefield),
THE WAKE, THE HOUSE, THE DRUNKARD, THE CHERRY ORCHARD (a version),
ALICE TRILOGY and The Seduction of Morality, a novel.
He is a multi-award-winning playwright whose plays are performed
throughout the world. He holds honorary doctorates from Trinity
College Dublin and the NUI (Galway). He was born in Tuam, County
Galway, and he currently lives in Dublin.
The Irish National Theatre presented a six-play season in 2001,
TOM MURPHY AT THE ABBEY, in celebration of his work. Tom Murphy’s
latest play, THE LAST DAYS OF A RELUCTANT TYRANT, has
its world premiere at the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in June 2009.
His plays are published by Methuen.
In a recent interview, Director
Ben Barnes had this to say about this version of THE CHERRY
ORCHARD: “Tom Murphy is the
Irish dramatist I most admire and his influence on directors of
my generation has been profound. More than most dramatists, Chekhov
has been plagued by a veritable avalanche of respectful and worthy,
but ultimately turgid and (literally) unspeakable, academic translations.
I knew that Tom would bring the insight, precision and economy
of a great dramatist to the work of another great dramatist.”
Director Ben Barnes is
a frequent visitor to the theaters in North America and THE CHERRY
ORCHARD is his fourth production for The Rep, the others being
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY (2006), TRANSLATIONS (2007) and ENDGAME
(2008). His productions of UNCLE VANYA by Anton Chekhov and ARISTOCRATS
by Brian Friel have been seen at the Lincoln Center, New York,
and his centenary Abbey Theatre production of THE PLAYBOY OF THE
WESTERN by John Synge was performed in New York, Chicago and is
on tour throughout the country. Outside of America, his award-
winning work as a director has been seen in many of the major cities
throughout the world including London, Paris, Budapest, Prague,
Barcelona, Athens, Sydney, Adelaide, Tokyo, Toronto and Montreal.
He
is currently the Director of the Theatre Royal in Waterford, the
oldest performing arts venue in Ireland, where he is spearheading
a major capital program of restoration which will be completed
in October of this year. He is a former Artistic Director of the
Opera Theatre Company and the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin and from 2000-2005
was Artistic Director of the Abbey Theatre, Ireland’s national
theater. He is the author of Plays and Controversies,
the diaries of his period as director of the Abbey which were published
in 2008.
The cast of THE CHERRY ORCHARD includes: Resident
Acting Company Members Mark Corkins (Yermolay
Lopakhin); Jonathan Gillard Daly (Stationmaster); Laura
Gordon (Charlotta Ivanovna); Torrey Hanson (Leonid
Gayev); Gerard Neugent (Simon Panteleyevich Yepikhodov); James
Pickering (Boris Borisovich Simeonov-Pishchik); Rose
Pickering (Ensemble); Deborah Staples (Lyubov
Andreyevna Ranyevskaya) and Brian Vaughn (Yasha).
Guest
actors in this production are: Richard Halverson (Firs); Jürgen
Hooper (Petya Trofimov), Erin Neal (Varya
Ranyevskaya); Kathleen Romond (Dunyasha) and Lee
Stark (Anya), who recently appeared in The Rep’s
hit production of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. Jürgen
Hooper, Erin Neal and Kathleen
Romond will be making their Rep debuts.
Members of the
The Rep’s Artistic Intern Company in THE
CHERRY ORCHARD include: Andrea Dennison-Laufer (Ensemble); Sam
Hicks (Ensemble); Josh Innerst (Post
Office Clerk/Vagrant); Jordan Laroya (Ensemble); Richelle
Meiss (Ensemble); Brian Rooney (Vagrant); James
S. Rudy (Vagrant); Aaron Shand (Vagrant), Cassandra
Stokes-Wylie (Ensemble) and Heidi Wermuth (Ensemble).
(To learn more about our Resident Acting Company, Guest Actors
or our Intern Company, please visit www.milwaukeerep.com.)
(To read more about THE CHERRY ORCHARD, please
see The Rep's online publication Prologue.)
(THE CHERRY ORCHARD production photos will be
posted at milwaukeerep.com/about/photos.htm.)
The Production/Design Team for THE CHERRY ORCHARD includes: Todd
Rosenthal (Scenic Designer); Rachel Healy (Costume
Designer); Thomas C. Hase (Lighting Designer); Barry
G. Funderburg (Sound Designer); Ed Burgess (Choreographer); Kristin
Crouch (Literary Director); Amanda Weener (Stage
Manager); Laura F. Wendt (Assistant Stage Manager); Abigail
Isaac (Assistant Director) and Donna Larsen (Stage
Management Intern).
Tickets to THE CHERRY ORCHARD range in price from
$10.00 – $60.00. Students and senior citizens may purchase
half-price RUSH TICKETS with proper identification 60 minutes before
curtain time for all Quadracci Powerhouse performances at The Rep
Ticket Office. For more information or to charge tickets, call 414-224-9490. Tickets
can be purchased online 24/7 at milwaukeerep.com.
For group sales of 10 or more, call The Rep Ticket Office at 414-224-9490.
New This Year! - Under 40 Discount
For patrons under the age of 40, select Quadracci Powerhouse Theater
and Stiemke Theater tickets are $10. Proper identification required.
Go to therep-entourage.com to order tickets. (Under
40 tickets are based on availablilty.)
Special Events for THE CHERRY ORCHARD:
•The Rep in Depth begins 45 minutes before every performance
in the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater. This Rep in Depth will be led by Resident
Acting Company Member James Pickering.
•On Thursday, April 16 at 7:30 p.m. and Tuesday,
May 5 at 6:30 p.m. there will be an Audio-Described
Performance for patrons who are blind or have low vision.
•On Thursday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. there
will be an American Sign Language Interpreted Performance for patrons who are
deaf or have low hearing.
•On Sunday, May 10 at 2:00 p.m. there will
be Captioned performance of THE CHERRY ORCHARD.
•The Rep Talkbacks will be held after the Wednesday
evening performances on April 22, April 29 and May
6. The Rep Talkbacks are offered immediately after select performances
and offer an opportunity for audience members to ask questions about the play
to Rep company members and actors in the production. For more information on
The Rep Talkbacks, please contact the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or
refer to The Rep’s Patron Guide.
•Pay-What-You-Can dates for this production are Tuesday, April
14 and Wednesday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. Here is your
chance to experience some of Milwaukee’s best live theater at a price you can
afford. A $5.00 minimum donation is suggested. Quadracci Powerhouse performances
start at 7:30 p.m. Tickets go on sale at 5:30 p.m. on the day of the performance.
There is a limit of 10 tickets per person for the Quadracci Powerhouse performances.
All performances are held in the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater located in the
Milwaukee Center at 108 E. Wells Street. For more information call The Rep’s
Ticket Office at 414-224-9490.
•A Theater Thursday event will be held on Thursday, April
23 beginning at 5:45 p.m. Theater Thursdays
are held on the second Thursday of each Quadracci Powerhouse
performance and include a pre-show reception with complimentary
appetizers. For more information on Theater Thursdays, please
contact Kristy Studinski at kstudinski@milwaukeerep.com or
414-290-0710. Trocadero will provide appetizers
for this Theater Thursday event.
•This season, Milwaukee Repertory Theater is introducing a new behind-the-scenes
experience. The Director’s Dialogue Series is a chance
to meet some of the country’s most dynamic directors while they are visiting
The Rep. The series concludes on Thursday, April 16 with THE
CHERRY ORCHARD Director Ben Barnes, at 6:00 p.m. at
The Rep. The evening will feature wine and hors d’oeuvres by Balzac Food
and Wine (414-755-0099 or balzacwinebar.com).
Tickets to this event are $25 and do not include a ticket to a performance.
To RSVP for this event, please contact Becca at development@milwaukeerep.com or
at 414-290-5347 by Thursday, April 9, 2009.
Upcoming events
•The Rep’s 2009 Gala: THE BAYOU BALL. Milwaukee
Repertory Theater will hold its annual gala on the evening of Saturday,
May 16, 2009 and will celebrate New Orleans food, music and culture. The
Bayou Ball will begin at 6 pm in the rotunda of the Milwaukee Center
and continue throughout The Rep’s spaces. Tickets for this event are
available for $250 per individual or $2000 for a table of eight. Corporate
tables are also available for $4000. If you would like more information or
to RSVP, please call 414-290-5347 or e-mail development@milwaukeerep.com.
•Milwaukee Repertory Theater Prop and Costume Garage Sale will
take place on Saturday, August 8 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. in
The Rep’s Stiemke Theater. Items to be sold will include costume pieces,
props, furniture and set decoration from some of your favorite productions.
Payment by cash or check will be accepted. All purchases are cash and carry,
and must be removed from The Rep by the end of the day. Get there early!
A CAPTIVATING TALE OF LOVE AND LOSS IN A CHANGING
WORLD
THE CHERRY ORCHARD
By Anton Chekhov
A version by Tom Murphy
Directed by Ben Barnes
Made possible in part by the generous support of:
FACT SHEET
THEATER: Quadracci Powerhouse
Theater
DATES: April 8 – May
3, 2009
DESCRIPTION: Set in 1904 on the edge of
the Russian Revolution, this bittersweet and haunting comedy is
Chekhov’s final play, a masterpiece about a rapidly changing
world and a way of life on the brink of destruction. With fortunes
fading fast and the auction of their estate looming on the horizon,
an impoverished Russian family is uncertain of what the future
will bring.
PERFORMANCES:
Tuesday,
4/14/09 -
7:30 p.m. - Preview/Pay-What-You-Can
Wednesday, 4/15/09 - 7:30 p.m. - Preview/Pay-What-You-Can
Thursday, 4/16/09 - 7:30 p.m. - Preview/Audio Description
Friday, 4/17/09 - 8:00 p.m. - Open
Saturday, 4/18/09 - 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 4/19/09 - 2:00/7:00 p.m. - 7:00/Super Sunday
Wednesday, 4/22/09 - 1:30/7:30 p.m. - 1:30/Bus Matinee, 7:30/Talkback
Thursday, 4/23/09 - 7:30 p.m. - Theater Thursday
Friday, 4/24/09 - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, 4/25/09 - 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 4/26/09 - 2:00/7:00 p.m. – 2:00/Smoke-Free/Family Sunday
Wednesday, 4/29/09 - 1:30/7:30 p.m. - 7:30/Talkback
Thursday, 4/30/09 - 7:30 p.m.
Friday, 5/1/09 - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, 5/2/09 - 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 5/3/09 - 2:00/7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, 5/5/09 - 6:30 p.m. - Early Bird/Audio Description
Wednesday, 5/6/09 - 7:30 p.m. - Audio Description/Talkback
Thursday, 5/7/09 - 7:30 p.m. - American Sign Language
Friday, 5/8/09 - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, 5/9/09 - 4:00/8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 5/10/09 - 2:00/7:00 p.m. - 2:00/Captioned Theater, 7:00/Close
TICKET PRICES:
PREVIEWS: $10.00 - $40.00
WEEKDAY/SUNDAY: $10.00 - $45.00
FRIDAY/SATURDAY: $10.00 - $60.00
TICKETS/INFORMATION: 414-224-9490 or buy tickets online
at www.milwaukeerep.com
TICKET OFFICE LOCATION: 108 East Wells
Street in Milwaukee’s Downtown Theater District
TICKET OFFICE HOURS: Mon - Fri, 12 p.m.
- 6 p.m. on phones, 12 p.m. - curtain for window
Sat - Sun 12 p.m. - 6 p.m. on phones, 12 p.m. - curtain for window
###
Milwaukee Repertory Theater is a nationally recognized
theater company that presents a critically-acclaimed selection
of compelling dramas, powerful classics, award-winning contemporary
works and lively Cabaret shows on three stages from September through
May. The Rep also produces an annual production of A CHRISTMAS
CAROL. The Rep's home, the Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex,
accommodates the Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, the Stiemke Theater
and the Stackner Cabaret. The Rep is also home to a Resident Acting
Company of 13 actors who perform with The Rep throughout the season.
The
Rep is proud to be a member of the United
Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), which provides major annual
financial support. Through
community support of the United Performing Arts Fund, UPAF
Member and Affiliate Groups are able to provide education
and outreach to over 400,000 children, provide over 2,000
live performances and reach over 1,000,000 people every year.
When everyone supports the arts through UPAF, they help our
local economy, improving education and strengthening outreach
programs to the disabled and elderly – all while adding
culture to their own life. Support of UPAF is critical to
UPAF Member Groups’ ability
to continue to offer exceptional live performances, award-winning
education and outreach programming and substantial economic
impact to our region. To learn more about UPAF or to donate,
go to www.upaf.org.
The Rep is supported in part by a grant
from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of
Wisconsin. The Rep is a member of the League
of Resident Theatres (LORT), a management association
of some of the nation's largest non-profit professional
theaters that collectively bargains with the unions that
represent the actors, directors and designers that work
at The Rep; a constituent of Theatre
Communications Group (TCG), the national organization
for the nonprofit professional theater; and a member of Theatre
Wisconsin, the statewide association of non-profit
professional theaters. This theater operates under an
agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors'
Equity Association, the union of professional actors
and stage managers in the United States. The set, costume
and lighting designers are members of United
Scenic Artists,
a national labor union. This theater is an equal opportunity employer.
Except in plays where race itself is an issue, casting
is decided based on ability, not race.
Milwaukee
Repertory Theater
Patty & Jay Baker Theatre Complex
108 E Wells St Milwaukee, WI 53202
Ticket Office: 414-224-9490 Ticket Office Fax: 225-5490
Administrative: 414-224-1761 Fax: 414-224-9097
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