In response to high demand for tickets to Robert Falls’ The Cherry Orchard, which opened last week to unanimous critical and popular acclaim, Goodman Theatre extends the run with five additional performances—now closing May 7. Falls’ adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s masterwork, “performed by many of (his) favorite Chicago actors, is everything I had hoped it would be…everything and more” (Chicago Tribune); Falls “makes the laugh lines snap so wickedly hard that they elevate the play’s pathos” (Newcity) and demonstrates “how well The Cherry Orchard works when it has preciseness of vision” (Broadway World). The Cherry Orchard appears April 1 – May 7 in the 856-seat Albert Theatre; a schedule of extension week performances appears below. Tickets ($25 –$100, subject to change) are available at GoodmanTheatre.org/Cherry or by phone at 312-443-3800. The Goodman is grateful for the support of The Roy Cockrum Foundation (Principal Support) and Mayor Brown (Corporate Sponsor Partner).
EXTENSION WEEK PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
- Thursday, May 4 at 7:30pm
- Friday, May 5 at 8pm
- Saturday, May 6 at 2pm and 8pm
- Sunday, May 7 at 2pm (closing)
Special offerings around the production include Behind the Curtain (April 22 at 4:30pm)—led by Goodman’s resident dramaturg Neena Arndt in a conversation with former Goodman artistic director Robert Falls about his fresh take on the last of Chekhov’s four major plays. Additionally, an ongoing photography display, Chicago’s Lost South by Lee Bey, carries the themes of the play into the lobby. Bey’s hauntingly beautiful photographs of South Side buildings are, once, impressive physical structures and collective stories keepers. For more details and tickets for these events, visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Cherry.
Anton Chekhov’s final play, The Cherry Orchard was performed just six months before his death at age 44. The aristocratic widow Madame Ranevskaya returns to her heavily-mortgaged estate on the eve of its auction—and finds that the fate of much more than her beloved orchard hangs in the balance. Falls’ previous productions of Chekhov’s work at the Goodman include Three Sisters (1995, with a cast including Calista Flockhart, Susan Bruce and Jenny Bacon), The Seagull (2010, featuring Mary Beth Fisher) and Uncle Vanya (2017 in a Chicago premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Baker’s adaptation of the work, led by Tim Hopper in the title role).
Falls’ cast features Chicago powerhouse Kate Fry (Lyubov Ranyevskaya) leading a company of 19, including Will Allen (Semyon Yepikhodov), Kareem Bandealy (Lopakhin), Janet Ulrich Brooks (Carlotta), Felipe Carrasco (Yasha), Stephen Cefalu (Petya Trofimov), Matt DeCaro (Boris Semyonov-Pishchik), Christopher Donahue (Leonid Gayev), Amanda Drinkall (Dunyasha), Alejandra Escalante (Varya), Francis Guinan (Firs), Sam Hubbard (Stationmaster/Ensemble), John Lister (Postmaster/Ensemble), Bill Mcgough (Ensemble), Tyler Meredith (Ensemble); Flavia Pallozi (Ensemble), Tiffany Scott (Ensemble), Eric Slater (Passerby/Ensemble) and Raven Whitley (Anya).
The creative team includes Todd Rosenthal (Set Design); Sotirios Livaditis (Associate Set Design); Ana Kuzmanic (Costume Design); Caitlin McLeod DesSoye (Assistant Costume Design); Keith Parham (Lighting Design); Richard Woodbury (Sound Design); Brian Elston (Assistant Lighting Designer). Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA and Rachael Jimenez, CSA. Dramaturgy by Neena Arndt. Kimberly McCann is the Production Stage Manager and Jennifer Gregory and Caitlin Body are the Stage Managers.
THE COMPANY OF The Cherry Orchard (in alphabetical order)
Semyon Yepikhodov ……Will Allen
Yermolai Lopakhin………Kareem Bandealy
Charlotta……Janet Ulrich Brooks
Yasha…………Felipe Carrasco
Petya Trofimov……..Stephen Cefalu
Boris Simyonov-Pishchik …….Matt DeCaro
Leonid Gayev….Christopher Donahue
Dunyasha……..Amanda Drinkall
Varya…….Alejandra Escalante
Lyubov Ranevskaya ……….Kate Fry
Firs……Francis Guinan
Stationmaster/Ensemble….Sam Hubbard
Postmaster/Ensemble……..John Lister
Ensemble………..Bill Mcgough
Ensemble…….Tyler Meredith
Ensemble…. Flavia Pallozzi
Ensemble….Tiffany Scott
Passerby/Ensemble………Eric Slater
Anya……Raven Whitley
Understudies for this production include Sam Hubbard (Yepikhodov/Yasha/Trofimov/Passerby and/or Postmaster), John Lister (Gayev/Pishchick), Bill McGough (Firs), Tyler Meredith (Varya/Dunyasha), Bridget Painter (Anya), Tiffany Scott (Charlotta/Ranevaskaya), and Eric Slater (Lophakin/Stationmaster and/or Postmaster).
Associate Direction by Georgette Verdin
Associate Set Design by Sotirios Livaditis
Set Design by Todd Rosenthal
Costume Design by Ana Kuzmanic
Assistant Costume Design by Caitlin McLeod DesSoye
Lighting Design by Keith Parham
Sound Design by Richard Woodbury
Assistant Lighting Design by Brian Elston
Choreography by Tommy Rapley
Line Production by Malkia Stampley
Casting is by Lauren Port, CSA and Rachael Jimenez, CSA.
Dramaturgy by Neena Arndt
Kimberly McCann is the Production Stage Manager. Jennifer Gregory and Caitlin Body are the Stage Managers.
ENHANCED AND ACCESSIBLE PERFORMANCES
Visit Goodman theatre.org/Access for more information about Goodman Theatre’s accessibility efforts.
ASL-Interpreted: Saturday, April 28 at 8pm – An American Sign Language interpreter signs the action/text as played.
Touch Tour and Audio-Described Performance: Saturday, April 29, 12:30pm Touch Tour; 2pm performance – The action/text is audibly enhanced for patrons via headset. NOTE: Touch Tours for the 2022/2023 Season will not have access to the stage due to current health and safety protocols, but will feature alternate pre-show sensory introductions.
Spanish Subtitles: Saturday April 29 at 8pm.
Open-Captioned: Sunday, April 30 at 2pm – An LED sign presents dialogue in sync with the performance.
ABOUT GOODMAN THEATRE
Chicago’s theater since 1925, Goodman Theatre is a not-for-profit arts and community organization in the heart of the Loop, distinguished by the excellence and scope of its artistic programming and community engagement. The theater’s artistic priorities include new play development (more than 150 world or American premieres), large scale musical theater works and reimagined classics. Artists and productions have earner two Pulitzer Prizes, 22 Tony Awards and more than 160 Jeff Awards, among other accolades. The Goodman is the first theater in the world to produce all 10 plays in August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Its longtime annual holiday tradition A Christmas Carol, now in its fifth decade, has created a new generation of theatergoers in Chicago. The Goodman also frequently serves as a production and program partner with national and international companies and Chicago’s Off-Loop theaters.
Using the tools of the theatrical profession, the Goodman’s Education and Engagement programs aim to develop generations of citizens who understand the cultures and stories of diverse voices. The Goodman’s Alice Rapoport Center for Education and Engagement is the home of these programs, which are offered free of charge for Chicago youth—85% of whom come from underserved communities—schools and life-long learners.
Goodman Theatre was founded by William O. Goodman and his family in honor of their son Kenneth, an important figure in Chicago’s cultural renaissance in the early 1900s. The Goodman family’s legacy lives on through the continued work and dedication of Kenneth’s family, including Albert Ivar Goodman, who with his late mother, Edith-Marie Appleton, contributed the necessary funds for the creation on the new Goodman center in 2000.
Today, Goodman Theatre is led by Artistic Director Susan V. Booth and Executive Director/CEO Roche Schulfer. Theater leadership also includes the distinguished members of the Artistic Collective: Rebecca Gilman, Dael Orlandersmith, Henry Godinez, Steve Scott, Kimberly Senior, Chuck Smith and Mary Zimmerman. Jeff Hesse is Chairman of Goodman Theatre’s Board of Trustees, Fran Del Boca is Women’s Board President and Craig McCaw is President of the Scenemakers Board for young professionals.