The Cherry Orchard

The latest production at The Mark Taper Forum is Anton Chekhov's classic "The Cherry Orchard". As a portrait of late-nineteenth-century Russia, the play captures the contradictory comedy and tragedy of that chaotic period. Unlike most Taper productions, this one included two well-known actors in its unusually large cast. Annette Bening plays a believable Ranyeskaya, the matriarch of an aristocratic family facing financial ruin. Opposite her, Alfred Molina's Lopakhin has emerged from peasant ancestry to become a successful businessman who, in a delightful twist of irony, winds up purchasing Ranyeskaya's estate at auction - the same estate on which his father and grandfather worked their entire lives as serf slaves. The owned becomes the owner, and vice versa.

The estate's cherry orchard stands as a symbol of the traditional Russian aristrocratic society under siege. It holds Ranyeskaya and her family hostage, as they are unable to let go of it, even when letting go may bring them financial salvation. In the objective style characteristic of Chekhov's works, "The Cherry Orchard" interweaves the lives of these various people without judgement. He is simply telling a story - a story of crisis to be sure - but watching it unfold, I felt as only a witness to events, not as a participant in some artistic tug-of-war for my emotions. This was unusual, in contrast to the long history of emotionally-charged productions at The Mark Taper Forum, but it was not an unpleasant experience. In fact, I found it a refreshing departure. Michael Ritchie, CTG's new artistic director, summarized the feeling well when he quoted Chekhov in his production notes:

"I will describe life to you truthfully, that is artistically, and you will see in it what you have not seen before, what you never noticed before: its divergence from the norms, its contradictions."

The production, based upon an adaptation by Martin Sherman and directed by Sean Mathias, is well-rounded by a host of able actors. Bening is credible, but not nearly as compelling as Molina. For me, the play pivots around his performance. Alan Mandell provides a perfect dose of comedy as the old (nay, ancient) man-servant, Firs. Alexander Dodge's staging continues the Taper tradition of elegant simplicity, with swooping abstract wooden backdrops and sparse furnishings, suggestive of a country estate, but not an oppulent one. The orchard itself is not staged at all, simply imagined by the cast somewhere out in front. This draws the audience into the production in a very intimate way, as if the players are speaking directly to us, as we sit amongst their beloved trees.

There is no real resolution by the final curtain, but I was not left unsatisfied. Rather, there is a sense of hope. Like "Fiddler on the Roof", "The Cherry Orchard" left me with a renewed sense of the human spirit's ability to overcome diversity. Life goes on and we manage to survive, even flourish. Russian history is certainly filled with opportunities to learn that lesson. Perhaps it's no coincidence that both plays tell Russian stories.