The Bridge Project: The Cherry Orchard
Part of the 2009 Spring Season
"Sam Mendes' robust staging of Stoppard's witty new adaptation boasts strong ensemble work, centered by the gravitas and emotional nuance of Simon Russell Beale's riveting Lopakhin." —Variety (Read more reviews in the "Articles & Reviews" tab above.)
Jan 3—Mar 8*
Bank of America presents The Bridge Project
Produced by BAM, The Old Vic & Neal Street Productions
The Cherry Orchard
By Anton Chekhov
A new version of the play by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Sam Mendes
Set design Anthony Ward
Costume design Catherine Zuber
Lighting design Paul Pyant
Sound design Paul Arditti
Hair & wig design Tom Watson
Illusions Peter Samelson
Associate Director Gaye Taylor Upchurch
Dialect Coach Timothy Monich
Casting Nancy Piccione and Maggie Lunn
Music Mark Bennett
Music direction Dan Lipton
Choreography Josh Prince
Beginning in January of 2009, some of the finest talents of New York and London theater converge at BAM to kick off an extraordinary venture—The Bridge Project—an unprecedented three-year, transatlantic partnership uniting BAM, The Old Vic, and Neal Street Productions. Academy Award winner (American Beauty) Sam Mendes, last at BAM with Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night (2003 Spring Season), returns to direct a formidable group of actors in an ocean-spanning double bill of revered classics: The Cherry Orchard and The Winter's Tale.
Simon Russell Beale, Sinéad Cusack, and Rebecca Hall from the UK; and Richard Easton, Josh Hamilton, and Ethan Hawke from the US take the stage in Tony Award-winner Tom Stoppard's new version of The Cherry Orchard, Chekhov’s daring, droll meditation on bourgeois materialism and what remains in its wake.
BAM Harvey Theater
Running time: Approx 160min with intermission
Subscription tickets: $24, 48, 72
(Full price: $30, 60, 90)
*Jan 3 at 7:30pm
Jan 4 at 3pm
Jan 6—10 at 7:30pm
Jan 11 at 3pm
Jan 13—17 at 7:30pm
Jan 18 at 3pm
Jan 20—24 at 7:30pm
Jan 25 at 3pm
Jan 27—31 at 7:30pm
Feb 1 at 3pm
Feb 24—27 at 7:30pm
Feb 28 at 2pm
Mar 1 & 7 at 7:30pm
Mar 8 at 2pm
Cast: Simon Russell Beale+, Michael Braun+, Selina Cadell+, Morven Christie+, Sinéad Cusack+, Richard Easton§, Rebecca Hall+, Josh Hamilton§, Ethan Hawke§, Paul Jesson+, Aaron Krohn§, Dakin Matthews§, Mark Nelson§, Charlotte Parry§, Gary Powell+, Tobias Segal§, Jessica Pollert Smith+, Hannah Stokely+
Musicians: Dan Lipton, Dana Lyn
Stage Management: Jane Pole, Kevin Bertolacci, Cat Fiabane+
+ Indicates that artists are appearing with the permission of Actors’ Equity Association.
§ Indicates that artists are appearing with the permission of UK Equity, incorporating Variety Artistes’ Federation, pursuant to an exchange program between American Equity and UK Equity. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors’ Equity Association for its assistance of this production.
Co-commissioned by and produced in association with Athens & Epidaurus Festival, The Edge® Auckland (NZ), Ruhrfestspiele Recklinghausen, The Singapore Repertory Theatre, Teatro Español de Madrid
New York Magazine review of The Cherry Orchard
"At BAM, Sam Mendes's production of The Cherry Orchard is a bold beginning to a daring series." More
Time Out NY review of The Cherry Orchard
“****...a deeply satisfying revival...everyone gets to shine." More
Financial Times (UK) review of The Cherry Orchard
"...mixes North American and British actors seamlessly...unmissable..." More
AM New York review of The Cherry Orchard
"...The Cherry Orchard is a terrific start to a genuinely exciting enterprise." More
The New York Times Review of The Cherry Orchard
"Much of the pleasure of this vibrantly acted tale of missed opportunities—centered on the return from Paris of the grand Ranevskaya (Ms. Cusack) and the imminent sale of her family estate—comes from the funny, forlorn spectacle of displaced people trying to pretend they're perfectly at home." More
Variety Review of The Cherry Orchard
"Sam Mendes' robust staging of Stoppard's witty new adaptation boasts strong ensemble work, centered by the gravitas and emotional nuance of Simon Russell Beale's riveting Lopakhin." More
The New York Post Review of The Cherry Orchard
"The [Bridge Project] gets off to a roaring start with this superbly staged and acted revival of Chekhov's classic, already one of the season's hottest tickets." More
The New York Daily News Review of The Cherry Orchard
"This vibrant revival…has more going for it than good timing. There's Sam Mendes' astute direction, Tom Stoppard's lucid translation, graceful designs and performances to match." More
The Wall Street Journal Review of The Cherry Orchard
"I can't recall another production of 'The Cherry Orchard' in which comedy and elegey were so well balanced...there was never a moment when I was anything other than enthralled." More
Associated Press Review of The Cherry Orchard
"There is an awareness by the time the evening ends that something important has disappeared, never to return. The effect is haunting." More
NY 1 Review of The Cherry Orchard
"...a deeply satisfying revival of The Cherry Orchard at BAM features an Anglo-American cast that meshes quite nicely." More
NPR Piece on The Bridge Project
Listen to interviews with Sam Mendes and Ethan Hawke; and hear Simon Russell Beale performing a soliloquy from The Winter's Tale. More
Newsweek Interview with Tom Stoppard on The Cherry Orchard
"Tom Stoppard's adaptation of The Cherry Orchard is timely, though he won't admit it...." More
Preview Article in The New York Times
"Despite all the agendas waving like pennants off the Bridge Project, finally it's the art that matters. Mr. Melillo wants to put on a good show and take it to the world. Mr. Mendes wants to paint without being deprived of half his palette. Mr. Spacey wants two great roles (though he’s not saying which ones) when he joins the company as an actor in its third season." More
W Magazine Article on Sam Mendes
"The rare director to move nimbly between stage and screen, Mendes still feels more at home in the theater...his latest challenge is the Bridge Project, a unique collaboration between Mendes, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and London's Old Vic."
"'One of Sam's goals is to prove that you can bring Americans and Brits together and do Shakespeare and it won’t be crap,' jokes Old Vic artistic director Kevin Spacey, who plans to headline the third season." More
Vanity Fair Piece on Rebecca Hall
"Since 1992, the magazine's Vanities section has opened with a full-page portrait of a promising young star...." More
Interview with Sam Mendes (The Guardian, UK)
“'I never went to the theatre,' Mendes says, 'we didn't have a lot of money, and theatre wasn't really on the cards until I was about t o study Shakespeare, and then my mum and dad both took me to Stratford.'" More
The Old Vic Site
"The Old Vic...strives to nurture young actors, writers, directors, and producers and works with schools and the local community to bring theater to a wider audience." More
Neal Street Productions
"Neal Street Productions is the UK-based independent film and theatre production company set up in 2003..." More