Holy Cross Theatre Department Presents Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard

WORCESTER, Mass. – The department of theatre at the College of the Holy Cross presents the final masterpiece of Anton Chekhov, The Cherry Orchard. Directed by Steve Vineberg, Monsignor Murray Professor in Arts and Humanities, the play will be performed on March 26-28 and April 2-4 at 8 p.m. in Fenwick Theatre (located on the second floor of O’Kane Hall). Tickets are $7 for members of the Holy Cross community and $10 for the general public. Group rates are available.

The Cherry Orchard is a tragicomedy that chronicles the decline of nobility in early 20th century Russia. A bankrupt aristocrat, Ranevskaya, played by Savanah Shaughnessy ’09, returns to her childhood countryside home incapable of stopping progress and recapturing her formerly gracious life. Neither Ranevskaya nor her brother Gaev, played by Daniel Goodman ’11, has been taught how to work for money; they do not know how to manage their estate, in spite of their education and cultivation. The play also addresses several other important themes, including drifting and restlessness, the nature of loss, unrequited love, and the inevitable march of time.

Produced by the Moscow Art Theatre in January 1904, just six months before his death, The Cherry Orchard pushes Chekhov’s ideas about theatrical realism further and is much more experimental with character development and tone than his previous works.  “In this production Chekhov’s approach to realism has inspired us in terms of the ways we’ve thought about staging, design, ensemble and sound,” according to Vineberg.

This production will be the third Chekhov play that Vineberg has directed at Holy Cross; he previously staged The Sea Gull and The Three Sisters.

“Directing Chekhov is always invigorating; I think he’s the greatest of all modern playwrights and the most complex. Our students love the challenges of working through his characters,” Vineberg says.