[NEohioPAL] Berko review: AN ORCHARD @ CWRU/CPH

[Roy Berko]

Adaptation of Chekov's CHERRY ORCHARD gets questionable interpretation by 
CWRU/CPH 

Roy Berko

(Member, American Theatre Critics Association and Dance Critics Association)

--THE TIMES NEWSPAPERS--
LORAIN COUNTY TIMES--WESTLAKER TIMES--LAKEWOOD NEWS TIMES--OLMSTED-FAIRVIEW 
TIMES

--COOLCLEVELAND.COM-

Anton Chekov helped take Western theatre to a new level.  Before Chekov and the 
other “modern” playwrights, much of European theatre was basically escapist 
romantic fluff, entertainment for the sake of entertainment.  

Anton Chekov, Henrik Ibsen and August Strindberg dove below the surface of 
culture and examined what people were doing, why they were motivated to take 
such actions, and the direction that the societies in which they found 
themselves were taking.

In THE CHERRY ORCHARD, an adaptation of which is being done by the Case Western 
Reserve University/Cleveland Play House Master of Fine Arts students, Chekov 
cast an eye on the aristocracy of Russia and reflected that they were heading 
for a fall.  He basically stated that their unrealistic life style was 
valueless, much like the overlooked and unused fruit of the cherry trees.  He 
illustrated that the structure of reverence for societal position and wasteful 
value of life would soon be bulldozed under.  He is credited with laying some of 
the ferment that eventually led to the Russian revolution.  This is serious 
stuff.

The play concerns an aristocratic Russian woman and her family, owners of a 
large tract of land that contains a cherry orchard.  The family has squandered 
its money and now is confronted with an unpayable mortgage.  While presented 
with options to save the estate, the family, like the Russian aristocracy,  
essentially does nothing and the play ends to the sound of the cherry orchard 
being cut down, much like what will happen to the upper classes when the 
revolution takes place.

Supposedly, when THE CHERRY ORCHARD was first produced, Chekov expressed strong 
objection to the way in which Konstantin Stanislavski directed the show.   That 
objection lead Stanislavski to reexamine the staging of plays and to his 
development of the Method Style of Acting in which the actor becomes the 
character, not acting like the character, clearly understanding the motivations 
and underpinnings of the person being portrayed.

THE CHERRY ORCHARD, or An ORCHARD as the CWRU/CPH version is titled, can be 
classified as a modern dramatic tragedy.  Though there are times when humor can 
be injected, it is mainly a realistic look at the naivety of the Russian upper 
classes in the late 18th and early 19th century.  

The approach of the CWRU/CPH production, under the direction of Mark Alan 
Gordon, which looks for the laughs, stresses overdone and often unrealistic 
characterizations, almost casting aside the prophetic nature of what is 
happening in the society and, specifically, to these misguided people, is 
questionable.  

The females in the cast are quite acceptable.  Kelli Ruttle as the mother, Kim 
Krane, the daughter ,and Eva Gil, the adopted daughter, all develop characters 
who basically fit Chekov's writing.  Ruttle is properly obtuse as a woman who 
cannot confront reality, singing merrily and spending money on a lavish party as 
her world collapses around her.  Krane gives us a young woman who lets love lead 
her to what is an uncertain future with naivety.  Gil clearly gives us a 
frustrated character who knows what is going on but is unable to change the 
course of action.  

On the other hand, the males in the cast play their roles on the surface, 
lacking realism in their performances.  Andrew Gorell so overdoes his role of 
the uncle that he is laughable, not allowing any room for empathy for his 
misguided plight.  Yan Tual, as the elderly servant, walks like Charlie Chaplin 
and plays strictly for laughs, so that at the poignant ending of the play, his 
abandonment, like the destruction of the society, leaves no room for empathy.  
Dan Hendrock stomps around stage feigning the eventually victorious merchant who 
grows from serf to landholder.  Michael Herbert is never convincing as the 
student who is supposed to represent the enlightened younger and educated class 
who will eventually lead the revolution.

In order to do Chekov well, the cast and production team need to understand the 
motivations behind the writing and the history of the era which is represented.  
Much of this educational element seems to have been overlooked in this 
production.

Jill Davis has converted the Studio One theatre into a forest in which the 
audience, sitting in unmatched chairs, are distributed among trees and set 
pieces.  The effect is very positive as the actors move freely among the 
audience, making the viewers part of the action.  One may question why, however, 
the orchard was made of birch rather than cherry trees, thus nullifying some of 
the symbolic underpinnings of the script.

Jeffrey Van Curtis has done an excellent job of creating era correct costumes.

CAPSULE JUDGMENT:   THE CHERRY ORCHARD is one of western theatre's great 
scripts.  It gets a questionable interpretation from the Case Western Reserve 
University/Cleveland Play House Master of Fine Arts program.

THE ORCHARD runs through November 6 at the Cleveland Play House.  For tickets 
call 216-795-7000 or go to www.clevelandplayhouse.com.
 
Roy Berko's blog, which contains theatre and dance reviews from 2001 through 
2010, as well as his consulting and publications information, can be found at 
http://royberko.info
His reviews can also be found on www.coolcleveland.com and NeOHIOpal (to 
subscribe visit http://mailman.listserve.com/listmanager/listinfo/neohiopal.)