Newly Adapted Version Of THE CHERRY ORCHARD Opens 6/27 In Topanga

An old Southern family desperately clings to tradition in a newly updated version of The Cherry Orchard. Anton Chekhov's poignant comedy, freely adapted by Heidi Helen Davis and Ellen Geer, opens on June 27 on The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum's outdoor stage in Topanga. Davis directs, and Geer takes on the role of Lubov Andreyevna Ranevsky - "LillIan Randolph Cunningham" in this adaptation.

Re-set in1970s Virginia during the aftermath of the civil rights movement, this new take on a familiar classic emphasizes the timelessness of Chekhov's themes about a rapidly changing world and a way of life on the brink of obsolescence.

"With great reverence for Chekhovs' work, I wanted to explore the relevance of this most excellent play to our beloved America," says Davis.

Funny yet heartbreaking, The Cherry Orchard is seen by many as Chekhov's finest play. Written in 1904, the bittersweet and haunting comedy chronicles the decline of the Russian aristocracy at the turn of the 20th century through the story of one family's futile attempt to save their beloved family estate along with its famed cherry orchard. Chekhov's story of the loss of a way of life, that of the leisurely landed gentry bolstered by serf labor, offers obvious parallels to the life of the social aristocracy in the Southern U.S. with its underpinnings of slavery.

The ethnically mixed cast of Theatricum Botanicum's The Cherry Orchard includes Ellen Geer as LillIan Randolph Cunningham (Mme. Ranevsky); William Dennis Hunt as Gates Randolph (Lionid Gaev); Steve Matt as Lawrence Poole (Lopakhin); Jerry Hoffman as Parnell Sanford (Semyonov-Pischchik); Emma Fassler as Dolores Hughes (Dunyasha); Matt Van Winkle as Buck Yankins (Yasha); Melora Marshall as Carlotta Schmidt (Carlotta); J.R. Starr as Fred Jasper (Firs); Willow Geer as Anna (Anya); Tippi Thomas as Velina (Varya); Tyler Rhoades as Yancy Ogelsby (Yepikhodov); and Marc Ewing as Terence Moses (Petya Trominov).

Heidi Helen Davis celebrates her 20th production at the Theatricum with this new adaptation of The Cherry Orchard. She is the director of last year's much celebrated Long Day's Journey Into Night, which was nominated for a Direction Award by the Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle and received the LADCC's Lead Performance Award for Ellen Geer. Last season, Heidi also directed Song of Extinction at [Inside] the Ford, which was the recipient of the 2008 Production of the Year Award from the LA Weekly; the LADCC's Ted Schmitt Award for World Premiere of an Outstanding New Play; and the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award, the largest national award for a new play. For East West Players, where she has also taught acting, Ms. Davis directed Not A Through Street with Nobu McCarthy, Songs of Harmon, and Proof. Other directing credits at Theatricum include You Never Can Tell, Watch on the Rhine, The Seagull, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Glass Menagerie, Sweet Bird of Youth, Lettice and Lovage, Our Town, and Harold and Maude. Heidi currently teaches directing at the Los Angeles Film School, and acting and directing at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

Ellen Geer has guided The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum repertory theater and educational academy since 1978. She has directed over 40 productions, including the works of Shakespeare, Williams, Chekhov, Wilder and classics of Greek Literature, and has acted in over 30. Her approach emphasizes ensemble work and integrates education into all aspects of the theater, and she annually teaches a Master Class in classical acting as part of Theatricum's Intensive Shakespeare Seminar. Ms. Geer is the recipient of many awards for her dedication to theater and education; most notably, she received the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for her performance as Mary Cavan Tyrone in last year's production of Long Day's Journey Into Night, and she received the LA Weekly Career Achievement Award in 1999. Under her leadership, Theatricum Botanicum was recognized with the Margaret Harford Award for Sustained Excellence in Theater from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle. In addition to her work at Theatricum, Ms. Geer is a graduate professor of classical acting at UCLA's Department of Theater, Film and Television and is a working actress. Credits include numerous roles in film and teleVision Productions such as You, Me & Everyone We Know; Harold and Maude; Patriot Games; Clear and Present Danger; Phenomenon; and HBO's Carnivale, to name a few. Ms. Geer is a founding member of the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Woody Guthrie Foundation.

The beginnings of the Theatricum Botanicum can be traced to the early 1950s when Will Geer, a victim of the McCarthy-era blacklist (before he became known as the beloved Grandpa on TV's "The Waltons"), opened a theater for blacklisted actors and folk singers on his property in Topanga. Since 1973, the Theatricum has presented Shakespeare and the classics in repertory in its scenic, outdoor amphitheater in rustic Topanga Canyon.

Performances of The Cherry Orchard take place on Fridays at 8 pm on August 28, September 4 and September 11; Saturdays at 4 pm on July 25, August 1, 15 and September 5; Saturdays at 8 pm on June 27 (Opening Night), July 4, 11, 18, August 8, 22 and September 26; and Sundays at 7:30 pm on June 28, August 30 and September 20. Tickets are $30.00 (lower tier) and $20.00 (upper tier); seniors, students, Iraq war veterans and members of Equity pay only $20 and $15; children ages 5-12 are $10; children under 5 are free. Audiences at the Saturday, August 1 performance are invited to participate in a pre-show discussion beginning at 3 pm. A free "Roundtable" discussion for The Cherry Orchard takes place on Sunday, July 12 from 2-3:15 pm.

The Will Geer Theatricum Botanicum is located at 1419 North Topanga Canyon Blvd. in Topanga, midway between Malibu and the San Fernando Valley. For tickets and information, call (310) 455-3723 or visit online at www.theatricum.com.

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