A family verges on bankruptcy while their country stands on the brink of revolution.

Endings and beginnings. Bittersweet departures. The comedy of life. When Madame Ranevskaya returns to her heavily-mortgaged estate on the eve of its auction, the aristocratic widow finds that the fate of much more than her beloved orchard hangs in the balance. Anton Chekhov’s canonical masterpiece is an exploration of loss, love and how to live in a society that’s changing fast. Following his critically-acclaimed productions of Three Sisters, The Seagull and Uncle Vanya, director Robert Falls takes on the last of Chekhov’s four major plays.

 

• Anton Chekhov, Playwright

  Anton Chekhov (January 29, 1860 – July 15, 1904) practiced medicine throughout his adult life, but his work as a short story writer and dramatist proved more lucrative and enduring. Born in Taganrog, Russia, in 1860, Chekhov began his literary career as a freelance journalist, publishing humorous sketches of contemporary life. In 1887 he won the prestigious Pushkin Prize for At Dusk, a collection of short stories. Success as a playwright eluded him, however, and the 1897 premiere of The Seagull flopped. It was remounted in 1898 at the innovative Moscow Art Theatre, where director Konstantin Stanislavsky’s attention to the psychological realism of Chekhov’s text made the play a critical and popular success. Over the next few years, Moscow Art Theatre produced Chekhov’s other major plays, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard.

  

• Robert Falls, Director

  Robert Falls most recently directed The Sound Inside by Adam Rapp for the Live series—productions live-streamed from the Owen Theatre to audiences at home in real-time. Additional recent Goodman credits include The Winter’s Tale, We’re Only Alive for A Short Amount of Time, Pamplona, An Enemy of the People, 2666 and The Iceman Cometh. Falls’ Broadway productions include Death of a Salesman, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Talk Radio, Shining City and The Young Man from Atlanta. His Broadway production of Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida continues to be produced around the world. Previous Goodman productions include, most notably, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Measure for Measure, King Lear, Desire Under the Elms, Finishing the Picture, The Misanthrope, Pal Joey, Galileo, House and Garden, Blue Surge, Dollhouse and Luna Gale. Falls’ honors for directing include a Tony Award (Death of a Salesman), a Drama Desk Award (Long Day’s Journey into Night), an Obie Award (subUrbia), a Helen Hayes Award (King Lear) and multiple Jeff Awards. For “outstanding contributions to theater,” he has also been recognized with such prestigious honors as the Savva Morozov Diamond Award (Moscow Art Theatre), the O’Neill Medallion (Eugene O’Neill Society) and the Illinois Arts Council Governor’s Award. Falls was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2015.