Ben Brantley in The New York Times called CSC’s THE CHERRY ORCHARD “heartbreakingly funny” adding “Dianne Wiest gives her finest stage performance in years” and “John Turturro uses his radioactive intensity to appropriately disruptive effect.”   Terry Teachout in The Wall Street Journal wrote, “CSC’s THE CHERRY ORCHARD is as good as anything you’re likely to see on a New York stage this season – or anywhere else, at any other time.  An impeccably theatrical piece of work.”  David Cote in Time Out New York wrote “Brimming with some of the city’s finest young actors and more seasoned troupers, and staged with ferocious energy and precision by Andrei Belgrader, this is a Chekhov as it should be.  Five Stars” 

In addition to Turturro and Wiest, the cast of THE CHERRY ORCHARD includes Ken Cheeseman (Pischick), Daniel Davis (Gaev),  Ben Diskant (Post Office Clerk/Servant) Alvin Epstein (Fiers), Josh Hamilton (Trofimov), Slate Holmgren (Yasha), Roberta Maxwell (Charlotta), Juliet Rylance (Varya), Michael Urie (Yepikhodov), Elisabeth Waterston (Dunyasha) and Katherine Waterston (Anya) and Michael Wieser (Station Master/Servant).       

First presented in 1904 at the Moscow Art Theatre, THE CHERRY ORCHARD was Chekhov’s final play, and with this new production CSC completes its acclaimed Chekhov Cycle, which has included The Seagull (with Wiest and Alan Cumming), Uncle Vanya (with Denis O’Hare, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard), and Three Sisters (with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Hecht, Juliet Rylance and Peter Sarsgaard). The latter two productions were directed by Austin Pendleton. With its Chekhov Cycle, CSC mounted these four masterpieces over the past five years, and gathered a dedicated constellation of actors, designers and directors, many of whom continued to return to work together on these remarkable plays.

The creative team for THE CHERRY ORCHARD includes scenic design by three-time Tony Award winner Santo Loquasto, costume design by Marco Piemontese, lighting design by James F. Ingalls, hair design by Paul Huntley and original music by Christian Frederickson and Ryan Rumery.

For tickets and performance schedule information, visit www.classicstage.org or call (866) 811-4111, or (212) 352-3101, or visit the CSC box office at 136 East 13th Street, Monday through Friday 12 pm to 6pm.  

Now in its 45th year Classic Stage Company is the award winning theatre committed to re-imagining the classical repertory for a contemporary American audience. This season in addition to The Cherry Orchard, CSC will present Brecht's Galileo with Academy Award winner F. Murray Abraham, and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Tony Award-winning actress Bebe Neuwirth as Titania.  Past seasons have included critically acclaimed productions of Chekhov's Three Sisters with Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jessica Hecht, Juliet Rylance and Peter Sarsgaard, directed by Austin Pendleton (Obie Award); David Ives’ The School for Lies with Hamish Linklater (Obie Award), directed by Walter Bobbie; Unnatural Acts, conceived and directed by Tony Speciale; Ostrovsky's The Forest with Dianne Wiest and John Douglas Thompson, directed by Brian Kulick; David Ives’ Venus In Fur with Nina Arianda and Wes Bentley, directed by Walter Bobbie; Shakespeare's The Tempest with Mandy Patinkin, directed by Brian Kulick;  Chekhov's Uncle Vanya with Denis O'Hare, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, directed by Austin Pendleton; Anne Carson's An Oresteia (International PENN Award for Poetry); Chekhov's The Seagull with Dianne Wiest and Alan Cumming;  David Ives’ New Jerusalem with Richard Easton, directed by Walter Bobbie;  Hamlet, Richard II, Richard III with Michael Cumpsty (Obie Award as Hamlet), directed by Brian Kulick; and Yasmina Reza's A Spanish Play with Zoe Caldwell, directed by John Turturro.

CSC presents plays from the past that speak directly to the issues of today. As we return to works of the past, we endeavor to keep a clear eye on the future, particularly in terms of the next generation of artists and audiences.  Founded in 1967, CSC has received wide recognition for its significant contributions to theatre as an art form through productions of classic plays, translations and adaptations and a long-standing commitment to the identification and nurturing of leading and emerging artists. Classic Stage's artists are the finest established and emerging theater practitioners working in this country. Highly respected and widely regarded as a major force in New York and American theatre, Classic Stage has been cited repeatedly by all the major Off-Broadway theater awards: Obies, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and the 1999 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.  Memberships to Classic Stage Company productions are available at various price levels, including the flexible MasterPass membership, which in addition to prime seats entitles members to participate in CSC special series, including their sold-out Open Rehearsal events.   For more information on Classic Stage Company visit the theatre’s website at www.classicstage.org.