The Cherry Orchard by Chekov, University of Texas, September 16 - 24

What was Brant Pope thinking?

That's not just a curmudgeonly expostulation. AustinLiveTheatre has an affection for alt-versions, augmentations and re-interpretations of the classics. Relatively small audiences have benefited from the Shakespeare riffs of the Wondrous Strange Players, their antecedent Austin Drama Club and the annual inventions of the Weird Sisters Theatre Collective. ALT applauds the current Hedda roll -- two modern language versions of Hedda Gabler from Palindrome Theatre, Tutto's Heddatron and The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler, opening next week at St. Ed's Mary Moody Northen Theatre.

For a first major outing with UT, its newly-selected chair for theatre and drama Brant Pope stages a Cherry Orchard by Chekhov that is disappointing and puzzling. Not for lack of talent, certainly, for he has three experienced teachers of theatre onstage, two of them long-standing members of Actors Equity, working with the latest class of gifted MFA Theatre students.

How about that vision thing? This production resembles exactly what it is: an acting workshop in a black box theatre. Pope double-casts most of the roles, so this second weekend's offering will be significantly different from that of the first. Lovely Lauren Lane, astute Lucien Douglas and slyly dogged Brooks Barr provide the rebounding posts for the pinball machine onstage.

The director situates the action in a nowhere that's only vaguely associated with Chekhov's world. Props and costumes appear to have been pulled at random out of the dusty lockers in the back of the warehouse. A Samsonite suitcase; the clunky metal-banded wristwatch worn by Lopakhin; a confusion of times and styles. In the opening scene Mykal Monroe as the serving girl Dunyasha wears a tight-fitting eccentric black outfit that would be appropriate for Sixth Street bar-hopping after midnight. The four acts of The Cherry Orchard occur at different times from May through September but most of these characters don't change their costumes once, except by draping a shawl or changing a hat.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Cherry Orchard by Chekov, University of Texas, September 17 - 24

Received directly:

The University of Texas presents

The Cherry Orchard

by Anton Chekhov

directed by Brant Pope

Sept 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24 at 8 p.m. and Sept 18, 25 at 2 p.m.
Venue: Oscar G. Brockett Theatre; 300 East 23rd Street (click for map) Parking available at UT's San Jacinto garage
Tickets: 512 471-1444 or on-line at Texas Performing Arts

In The Cherry Orchard, the audience is introduced to a charming yet exasperating Russian family that does nothing to save their beloved estate. Both poignant and comical,the story is a literary feat only Chekhov could compose.

The Cherry Orchard showcases a cast of student talent, accompanied by Lauren Lane, from television’s The Nanny, and most recently, ZACH Theatre’s production of August: Osage County.

Department of Theatre and Dance General Information: 512‐471-5793 or online

Profile: The Grad Student, Chekhov, and the Circle of Friends: The Cherry Orchard, November 5 - 21

UPDATE: ALT review of The Cherry Orchard, November 6

Thanks to permission granted by Actors Equity at the petition of several of its prominent Austin members, Chekhov's last play will be presented in Austin for three weekends.

The production of The Cherry Orchard that opens on Thursday for a three-week run promises to be remarkable.

It’s a labor of love and a celebration of friendship, an homage to Chekhov for the second time in two years. An informal association of actors calling themselves the “Breaking String” group, a reference to the stage direction that concludes The Cherry Orchard, is working with Graham Schmidt, director, who also translated the play. Schmidt has just received his M.A. from UT.

This constellation occurs partly by serendipity and partly because of a shared admiration for Anton Pavelovich Chekhov. Dr. Chekhov, who died in 1904 from tuberculosis at the age of 44, may have been the first modern playwright, if one speaks of the twentieth century. He was one of the most humane, gentle and subtle playwrights of all time.

Read more at AustinLiveTheatre.com . . . .

Upcoming: The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, Breaking String Theatre Company at the Blue Theatre, November 5 - 21

UPDATE: ALT review of The Cherry Orchard, November 6

Found on-line:

Breaking String Theater** presents
an Actors’ Equity Association Members Project Code Production…

The Cherry Orchard

A Comedy by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov

Lyubov Ranyevskaya went to Paris to escape her past; she returns to Russia to discover that her ancestral home, and her beloved cherry orchard, are about to disappear forever. In this haunting tale of love, loss, and human frailty, Lyubov must endure the unimaginable, and realizes that even as the axes fall on the trees, a new life is being born.

More than a century after it was written, Chekhov’s last and most beloved play still holds audiences spellbound with its unexpected majesty and dramatic power. Chekhov also finds comedy in our failures to live up to those ideals we consider sacred. As Breaking String theater artists, we hope most of all to bring Chekhov’s warmth and generosity of spirit to our audiences.

Some of Austin’s finest performers have come together to perform this new translation from the original Russian. Featuring a remarkable artistic ensemble with Babs George *, Dirk van Allen *, Bernadette Nason*, Ev Lunning *, Matt Radford, Nigel O’Hearn, Liz Fisher, Sarah Gay, Robert Matney, Robin Grace Thompson, Noel Gaulin, Maarouf Naboulsi, and Cody Chua.

The off-stage talent includes Graham Schmidt as director and translator, Adam Hilton providing first-class sound design, Rommel Sulit delivering a stunning set, Jen Rogers designing an exceptional lighting layout, and Buffy Manners beautifully costuming the cast.

Performances at 8 o’clock p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays, November 5 - 21 at the Blue Theatre, 916 Springdale Road

TICKETS: Suggested donation of $15-$25 at the door
Reservations available only at www.breakingstring.com

* Members of the Actors’ Equity Association. This is a Members’ Project Code production.
**Breakin’ String Theatre is a provisional name for this collaboration of artists.

Click to view full credits for cast and crew.

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