Chekhov's 'The Cherry Orchard' will leave you laughing

For years, audiences who have watched Anton Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" haven't been sure whether to laugh or cry.

But the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University theater department is going to make it easier on audiences this time around.

The play, which opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 13, at the Gorecki Theater, Benedicta Arts Center, CSB, will be staged as a comedy. The production continues at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 14 and 15; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16; and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20, 21 and 22, all at the Gorecki Theater.

Chekhov subtitled the play "A Comedy," but even in its 1904 debut at the Moscow Art Theatre, it had audiences weeping by the end of the performance. The Russian playwright always insisted that the play was funny, but Constantin Stanislavski directed the play as a tragedy. Since then, directors have had to contend with the dual nature of the show.

But director Kaarin Johnston, professor of theater at CSB and SJU, and her cast of 13 students have imagined that Chekhov is sitting in on their rehearsals, directing the actors as to why his nutty and exuberant characters should make us laugh.

Johnston has been planning this production for over 15 years, continually updating her interpretation of the characters and the meaning of the script while researching the life of Chekhov. The production combines the styles of realism, expressionism and absurdism.

Chekhov's plot is simple. An aristocratic Russian woman and her family return to their family estate (which includes a large cherry orchard) before it is auctioned off to pay the mortgage. An enterprising neighbor, a grandson of a serf, offers a plan to save the estate by building summer cottages and renting them out. The landowner is totally against this, and ignores the intelligent capitalist's advice. The family essentially does nothing, and the play ends with the sale of the estate to the neighbor, who cuts down the cherry orchard.

The period-themed costumes were designed by Amelia Cheever, assistant professor of theater at CSB and SJU, who has also designed costumes for many professional productions in the Twin Cities. The set and lighting designs are by Mark Hennigs, associate professor of theater at CSB and SJU.

The running time of the production, including intermission, is approximately two hours.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students/youth, faculty/staff and seniors, and are available through the Fine Arts Programming Box Office at the BAC. The Friday, Nov. 14, performance is free, but reservations are required.  Please use the registration form to reserve your spot for the Nov. 14 performance.