Study Guide for The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov (Translation by Emily Mann)
Directed by Ruthie Tutterow
School Performance: Friday, April 11 at 10:40
Where and when is the play set?
The action takes place on Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya’s estate, Russia, 1904.
What is the play about?

The Cherry Orchard, like many of Chekhov’s plays, deals with Russian society at a crossroads and
the inability of these deeply human characters to be able to move forward from their past.

The story concerns Lyubov Andreyevena Ranevskaya, an estate owner, who has returned to her
family’s estate after five years abroad in Paris. We learn that she has run off with her lover after
the death of her youngest child, a son. Lyubov is unable to reconcile her new social and
financial status with Lopakhin, a businessman whose family were formerly serfs on Ranevskaya’s
estate and who is still intimidated by her. She seems unable to deal with reality or money, and
eventually may lose the estate and the beautiful cherry orchard on it.
What type of play is it?

The Cherry Orchard is an example of Realism, a theatrical style which became popular in the late
1800’s and is still popular today. In realism, plotlines are linear—they follow a cause and effect
sequence of events and lead to a climactic scene. The acting in realistic plays is observable—the
actors should appear to be true to life and be believable in their roles. However, The Cherry
Orchard also has some Absurdist overtones—in Absurdism, the central truth is that there is no
logic—life is chaos. Some characters, especially Charlotta and Firs, show this side of the writing
in the play. Realistic plays such as The Cherry Orchard deal with contemporary social issues and
problems.
What were some of the social issues of the time that are discussed in The Cherry Orchard?

Russia had been ruled by a Tsar since the time of Ivan the Terrible (1530-1584.) Most Tsars held
absolute rule over the nobles, who in turn ruled over the serfs, or peasants who worked their
land. By the time of Catherine the Great (1729-1796) the aristocratic nobles were treating their
serfs as slaves. In the 1800’s, these conventions began to come under attack. After a failed
attempt in 1825 to prevent the accession to the monarchy of Nicholas I, his son, Alexander II,
tried to assuage the growing dissent by freeing the serfs in 1861. However, this freedom did not
come with any economic or social change in the condition of the peasants. The characters in
The Cherry Orchard still keenly feel their social status and historical relationships. However, a
new working class (characterized by Lopakhin) and revolutionaries (characterized by Trofimov)
were beginning to organize at the beginning of the20th century to challenge the old Tsarist
monarchy for good. Trofimov in particular, talks about the new future that is coming, and how
the injustices of the past will fuel the coming changes. The Cherry Orchard was first produced in
1904. Russia was about to change dramatically. In 1905, the events of “Bloody Sunday” turned
the workers and peasants even more against the Tsarist monarchy. By 1917, the Bolshevik
Revolution led to a socialist government. The aristocracy was forced to give up their property
after 1917—all property became owned by the government. Nicholas II abdicated the
monarchy and was eventually executed. Russia entered the Soviet era, becoming the USSR
(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.)
Who wrote The Cherry Orchard?

The Cherry Orchard was written by Russian writer Anton Chekhov. Anton Chekhov (1860-1904)
has four major plays: The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchard. He
also was a writer of many short stories.

Some of the events in The Cherry Orchard are reflective of Chekhov’s life. For example,
Chekhov’s father went bankrupt after building a new house, and the family lived in poverty in
Moscow. Chekhov boarded with a man who, like Lopakhin, bought his father’s house. Chekhov
felt many of the class issues that affected his characters in The Cherry Orchard. Chekhov was
affected by tuberculosis and lived at an estate with a cherry orchard near Moscow, at Melikhovo
from 1892-1899.

Chekhov eventually worked his way through medical school, and so was a doctor as well as a
writer. He never made a lot of money as a doctor—he treated the poor for free, and eventually
contracted TB from his patients. He wrote to earn extra money to help support his family. He
died of complications from TB in 1904, shortly after the first production of The Cherry Orchard.

The characters in Chekhov’s plays are usually the floundering aristocrats of the 1880’s and
1890’s. Their realism is portrayed in the details of everyday life. Often, the scenes are more
about the subtext (the meaning behind the lines) rather than what they are actually saying.
Chekovian characters must have inner life and truth in their actions.
Who are the characters in the play? (Descriptions from Wikipedia)

Madame Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya (Marian van Noppen)- a landowner. Lyubov is the
linchpin around which the characters revolve. A commanding and popular figure, she represents
the pride of the old aristocracy, now fallen on hard times. Her confused feelings of love for her
old home, and sorrow at the scene of her son's death, give her an emotional depth that keeps
her from devolving into a mere aristocratic grotesque. Most of her humor comes from her
inability to understand financial or business matters.

Anya - her daughter, aged 17 (Elizabeth Buxton) She undertakes the journey to Paris to rescue
her mother from her desperate situation at the age of just 17. She is that rare character, a truly
virtuous, strong, young female. She is in love with Trofimov, and listens to his revolutionary
ideas, whether she is actually taking them in or not.

Varya - her adopted daughter, aged 24 (Anne McCarty) Varya creates one of the mysteries of
the play: why did Lyubov adopt her? Is she the illegitimate child of her late husband? Is she the
unacknowledged daughter of Gayev? Varya is deeply religious, and very serious, as well as being
very controlling towards other characters. She has a troubled relationship with Lopakhin, to
whom she is romantically linked, but of whom she disapproves.

Leonid Andreyevich Gayev - brother of Lyubov (Will Pugh) One of the more obviously comic
characters, Gayev is a talkative eccentric. His addiction to billiards (often manifesting itself at
times of discomfort) is symbolic of the aristocracy's decadent life of leisure, which renders them
impotent in the face of change. Gayev tries hard to save his family and estate, but ultimately, as
an aristocrat, lacks the drive.

Yermolai Lopakhin - a merchant (Patrick Robinson) Lopakhin is by far the richest character in
the play, but comes from the lowest social class. This contrast defines his character: he is
enjoying living the high life, but at the same time is uncomfortably conscious of his low
beginnings and obsession with business. Often portrayed as an unpleasant character because of
his greedy tendencies, and ultimate betrayal of the Gayev family, there is nothing in the play to
suggest this: he works strenuously to help the Gayevs, but to no avail. Lopakhin represents the
new middle class in Russia, one of many threats to the old aristocratic way of doing things.

Petya Trofimov - a student (Edwin Brown) Trofimov, Anya's love interest, is depicted as the
"eternal" (or in some translations "wandering") student. An impassioned left-wing political
commentator, he represents the rising tide of reformist political opinion in Russia, which
struggled to find its place within the authoritarian Czarist autocracy.

Boris Simeonov-Pishchik - a landowner (Cameron Milani) Another old aristocrat, whose own
estate has hit hard times. He is constantly discussing new business ventures that may save him,
or badgering Lyubov for a loan. His character embodies the irony of the aristocracy's position:
despite his financial peril, he spends the play relaxing and socializing with the Gayevs.

Charlotta Ivanovna - a governess (Jenny Kaplan) By far the most eccentric character, Charlotta
is the only governess the Gayevs could afford to provide a companion for Anya. She is a
melancholy figure, taken in by a German woman without any real knowledge of whom her Circus
Entertainer Parents were. She performs card tricks and ventriloquism at the party in the third
act, and accepts the loss of her station when the family disbands with pragmatism.

Yepikhodov - a clerk (Lee Graves) The Gayev's estate clerk is also another source of comedy. He
is unfortunate and clumsy in the extreme, earning him an insulting nickname of "Twenty-Two
Misfortunes" (This nickname varies according to the translation). He considers himself to be in
love with Dunyasha, whom he has asked to marry him.

Dunyasha - a housemaid (Anna Dorsett) Like Lopakhin, she is another example of the social
mobility in Russia at the time. A peasant who is employed as the Gayev's chambermaid,
Dunyasha is an attention seeker, making big scenes, and dressing as a lady, to show herself off.
She is in some respects representative of the aristocracy's impotence, as a lowly chambermaid
would not normally have the freedom to dress like a lady and flirt with the manservants. She is in
love with Yasha.

Firs - a manservant, aged 87 (Max Roehrig) An aging eccentric, Firs considers the emancipation
of the Russian serfs to be a disaster, and talks nostalgically of the old days, when everybody
admired their masters and owners, such as Gayev's parents and grandparents. His madness and
harmlessness are a source of much of the play's poignancy, symbolizing the decay of the old
order into muttering madness.

Yasha - a young manservant (Nathan Vercaemert) The play's only truly unpleasant character,
Yasha represents the new, disaffected Russian generation, who dislike the staid old ways, and
are effectively the origins of the revolution. A rude, inconsiderate and predatory young man who
wears cheap cologne, Yasha, like Dunyasha and Charlotta, is the best the Gayevs can afford. He
is in conflict with Yepikhodov for the affections of Dunyasha, with whose affections he toys with.

Ensemble: Made up of servants (Acts 1 & 4) and guests (Act 3.) (Billy Allen, Sarah Cassell, Jenna
Schleien, BJ Williams, Lauren Freedman, Jake Pulitzer, Allie Glenn) Their dancing helps to
enhance the despondency of the denial of the aristocracy’s fate, and particularly Lyubov’s denial
of her financial state in act 3. The additional servants help to set the excitement of Lyubov’s
arrival in act 1 and the departure from the town in act 4.

A Vagrant (Jake Pulitzer) A passer-by who interrupts and insults the Gayevs as they laze around
on the Gayevs' estate during Act II. He is symbolic of the intrusion of new ideologies and social
movements that infringed on the aristocracy's peace in Russia at the turn of the 20th century.

The Stationmaster (BJ Williams) This official attends the Gayevs' party in Act III. His is a symbol
of the deprecation of the aristocracy in 1900s Russia - Firs comments that, whereas once they
had barons and lords at the ball, now it's the postman and the stationmaster, and even they
come only to be polite.
What are some guidelines for attending a play?



Do not talk during a live performance. It annoys those near you as well as the actors, who have
put a lot of effort and many, many hours into preparing this performance.
Turn off and put away all cell phones. A ringing phone can be disasterously distracting. Even
checking your cell phone during a show is distracting, since all those around you can see the
light.
Show respect to the actors by applauding at act breaks, and responding appropriately (don’t
laugh during a serious scene, for example.) A play is not the same as attending an athletic
event—yelling your friend’s name or shouting is not appropriate.


Do not get up and move around during the performance. Unless it is an emergency, the only
appropriate time to excuse yourself is during an act break or intermission. We will take a 5
minute stretch break between acts during the school performance.
Come with an open mind. Regardless of the reason that you are coming to see the play, be
open to the possibility that you can be moved and entertained by it.