The Northwestern College theatre department will present Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” April 22–23 and 28–30 in the DeWitt Theatre Arts Center’s Allen Theatre. The show will begin at 7:30 each of those evenings; there will also be a 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday, April 23.
Written by one of theatre’s most impactful and important playwrights, “The Cherry Orchard” centers on an aristocratic Russian landowner who returns to her family’s estate just before it is auctioned to pay the mortgage. The play combines comedy, farce and tragedy in telling the story of a country undergoing a dramatic shift from what had been its traditional way of life in the early 20th century.
Dr. Robert Hubbard, the Northwestern theatre professor who is directing the play, appreciates both the humor and pathos of “The Cherry Orchard.”
“I think Chekhov is really funny,” Hubbard says, “but he also has this kind of bittersweet attitude toward humanity. His characters are passionate people trying to prove themselves in the world. They’re often battling forces that are out of their control—and I think that’s a theme a lot of us can resonate with.”
“The Cherry Orchard” features a cast of 13, including four graduating seniors in Northwestern’s theatre program: Karisa Meier, Jackson Paganini, Rachel Smart and Sabrina Van Gorp. Turn-of-the-century costumes were created by student Chloe Tschetter, who studied fashion design last fall at Florence University of Arts in Italy.
Tickets for “The Cherry Orchard” are $10 for adults, $5 for students ages 13 to 18, and free for children 12 and under. Tickets go on sale April 13 and can be reserved at nwciowa.edu/tickets or by calling the box office at 712-707-7098 or e-mailing boxoffice@nwciowa.edu.
