Outdoor Theater: Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard Reset in 1970s Virginia
Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum (1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd. Topanga, CA 90290)
- Full Price:
- $30.00
- Our Price:
- $15.00*
* Additional fees apply.
All offers for The Cherry Orchard have expired.
The last date listed for The Cherry Orchard was Saturday September 26, 2009 / 8:00pm.
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After the Fall: Rarely Produced Classic by Arthur Miller from HumanArts Theater Company
- Full Price:
- $25.00
- Our Price:
- $12.50
Based on the playwright's life and considered one of Arthur Miller's most personal plays, After The Fall follows a man on his quest to make peace with his own history and with the tumultuous world around him. This experimental portrait of a man struggling with the choices he has made in his public and private life examines the personal, political and universal forces that collide when we "fall" from innocence. Following the death of his second wife, Quentin tries to move forward, but he must also relive childhood losses, failed marriages and the effects of the 1950s' Blacklist. This rarely produced classic is presented by the HumanArts Theater Company. Learn More
Goldstar Member Tips
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Kristene Wallis on What to Wear
Take a cover-up of some sort. It gets chilly.
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Kristene Wallis on Other
Bring a pillow to sit on. Those benches are hard as rocks (of course).
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Peter Altschuler on Where to Park
Bring a flashlight if you're going to park on Topanga Canyon Blvd at night.
Goldstar Member Reviews
Victor B.
This was my first experience at the Will Geer Theatricum. This was also my first time seeing The Cherry Orchard. I now would like to see this play in its original version. That said, the acting here was excellent. I was impressed on how the scenary was handled in this outdoor venue. On the negative side the seating is very uncomfortable and the sounds from the woods were distracting.Written on Aug 31 2009
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Bruce W.
THE VENUE IS GREAT, THE ACTING WAS EXCELLENT. INTERESTING ADAPTATION OF CHEKHOV. LOVED IT!!!Written on Jul 20 2009
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Richard Schenkman
The update of the story to the '70's certainly made thematic sense, but by moving the play into our era, the "theatrical" nature of the material was exposed -- over-exposed, I think. In other words, the distancing factor of the events taking place a long time ago in a country far, far away usually makes it easier to suspend disbelief.Written on Aug 03 2009
Also, for a piece described as a "comedy", it's really not very funny at all, and of course ends tragically. What's there to laugh about?
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Elaine Mura
I couldn't believe how beautifully this Russian classic fit into the 1970's Virginia scene. The acting was superb, the settings were clever, and the entire ambiance was charmng. Unfortunately, the crickets sometimes drowned out the dialog! In fact, I was told to sit a little higher because the sound was clearer up there. Overall, a winner!Written on Aug 10 2009
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More Information About The Cherry Orchard
Website
http://www.theatricum.com/Season.htm
Description
An old Southern family desperately clings to tradition in a newly updated version of The Cherry Orchard. Anton Chekhov's poignant comedy, freely adapted by Heidi Helen Davis and Ellen Geer, opens on The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum's outdoor stage in Topanga. Davis directs, and Geer takes on the role of Lubov Andreyevna Ranevsky - "Lillian Randolph Cunningham" in this adaptation.
Re-set in 1970s Virginia during the aftermath of the civil rights movement, this new take on a familiar classic emphasizes the timelessness of Chekhov's themes about a rapidly changing world and a way of life on the brink of destruction.
"With great reverence for Chekhovs' work, I wanted to explore the relevance of this most excellent play to our beloved America," says Davis.
Funny yet heartbreaking, The Cherry Orchard is seen by many as Chekhov's finest play. Written in 1904, the bittersweet and haunting comedy chronicles the decline of the Russian aristocracy at the turn of the 20th century through the story of one family's futile attempt to save their beloved family estate along with its famed cherry orchard. Chekhov's story of the loss of a way of life, that of the leisurely landed gentry bolstered by serf labor, offers obvious parallels to the life of the social aristocracy In the Southern U.S., with its underpinnings of slavery.
The ethnically mixed cast of Theatricum, Botanicum's The Cherry Orchard includes Ellen Geer as Lillian Randolph Cunningham (Mme. Ranevsky); William Dennis Hunt as Gates Randolph (Lionid Gaev); Steve Matt as Lawrence Poole (Lopakhin); Jerry Hoffman as Parnell Sanford (Semyonov-Pischchik); Emma Fassler as Dolores Hughes (Dunyasha); Matt Van Winkle as Buck Yankins (Yasha); Melora Marshall as Carlotta Schmidt (Carlotta); J.R. Starr as Fred Jasper (Firs); Willow Geer as Anna (Anya); Tippi Thomas as Velina (Varya); Tyler Rhoades as Yancy Ogelsby (Yepikhodov); and Marc Ewing as Terence Moses (Petya Trominov).
Heidi Helen Davis celebrates her 20th production at the Theatricum with this new adaptation of The Cherry Orchard. She is the director of last year’s much celebrated Long Day’s Journey Into Night, which was nominated for a Direction award and received a Lead Performance award for Ellen Geer from the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle. Last season, Heidi also directed Song of Extinction at [Inside] the Ford, which was the recipient of 2008 Production of the Year Award from the LA Weekly; the Ted Schmitt Award for the World Premiere of an Outstanding New Play from the LADCC; and the largest national award for a new play, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award. Other Theatricum directing credits include: You Never Can Tell; Watch on the Rhine; The Seagull; A Streetcar Named Desire; The Glass Menagerie; Sweet Bird of Youth; Lettice and Lovage; Our Town; and Harold and Maude, among others. She continues to teach acting at the Howard Fine Studio and East West Players; directing at the Los Angeles Film School; and acting and directing at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Ellen Geer has guided The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum repertory theater and educational academy since 1978. She has directed over 40 productions, including the works of Shakespeare, Williams, Chekhov, Wilder and classics of Greek Literature, and has acted in over 30. Her approach emphasizes ensemble work and integrates education into all aspects of the theater, and she annually teaches a Master Class in classical acting as part of Theatricum’s Intensive Shakespeare Seminar. Ms. Geer is the recipient of many awards for her dedication to theater and education; most notably, she received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her performance as Mary Cavan Tyrone in last year’s production of Long Day’s Journey Into Night, and she received the LA Weekly Career Achievement Award in 1999. Under her leadership, Theatricum Botanicum was recognized with the Margaret Harford Award for Sustained Excellence in Theater from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. In addition to her work at Theatricum, Ms. Geer is a graduate professor of classical acting at UCLA’s Department of Theater, Film and Television and is a working actress. Credits include numerous roles in film and television productions such as You, Me & Everyone We Know; Harold and Maude; Patriot Games; Clear and Present Danger; Phenomenon; and HBO’s Carnivale, to name a few. Ms. Geer is a founding member of the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Woody Guthrie Foundation.
The beginnings of the Theatricum Botanicum can be traced to the early 1950s when Will Geer, a victim of the McCarthy-era blacklist (before he became known as the beloved Grandpa on TV's "The Waltons"), opened a theater for blacklisted actors and folk singers on his property in Topanga. Since 1973, the Theatricum has presented Shakespeare and the classics in repertory in its scenic, outdoor amphitheater in rustic Topanga Canyon.