When Simon Godwin decided to take on The Cherry Orchard, an Anton Chekhov classic that has been seen on Broadway over 10 times, he knew that he would have to take a fresh approach to it. The associate director at the National Theatre in London has developed a reputation for making bold choices on the stage—his recent production of Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company featured a black actor in the title role and was transposed to an African state—and his Broadway debut is no exception.
Produced by Roundabout Theatre Company, Godwin’s Cherry Orchard has been adapted by Stephen Karam, who won a Tony Award for his play The Humans. “I felt it would be very useful to have a new version of the play written in an American vernacular and style,” explains the director. “[Karam] is young and brilliant and a chronicler of families—for better or for worse, the joy and the pain of being part of a family—so he seemed like a really good fit for Chekhov..." READ MORE
Photograph by Jenny Anderson
Why This Year’s Cherry Orchard Got a Contemporary Makeover
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JUNE 19, 2016 |
Source: Playbill