Adult Film Will Bring THE CHERRY ORCHARD to Rutgers Presbyterian Church

After a year-long process of ensemble exploration and rehearsals, Adult Film, in association with BKE Productions, today announced that it will present a reimagined production of Anton Chekov's The Cherry Orchard this fall at Rutgers Presbyterian Church (236 West 73rd St.).

This is not The Cherry Orchard you're familiar with. Directed by Ryan Czerwonko, this version turns Chekhov's crumbling estate into a surreal, intoxicating world somewhere between Fellini and Lynch, set within the ballroom of the mind.  Love, lust, class, comedy, magic, and darkness entwine in a theatrical fever dream where anything can happen. The limited 16-performance run begins previews on September 18, plays Thursdays through Sundays at 7:30 PM., and runs through October 12. The official opening is set for Saturday, September 20. Seating is extremely limited. 
 
Time goes by so slowly/life is a whirlwind… Lubov is lured from her hedonistic life in Paris back to her estate by the promise of innocence and purity that her Russian homeland holds. As she is distracted by her dysfunctional family, upstart servants, dreams, and fantasies, The Cherry Orchard is in danger of being sold. 
 
This is the story of a woman hurling herself after love and destroying everything in her path. With a cast of emerging, established, and legendary theatre artists, the production takes influence from the films of Fellini and David Lynch and the music of Madonna and Franz Ferdinand. This multimedia, anachronistic version of the play locates itself not in an orchard or a nursery but a ballroom of the mind.

 This production marks the first staging of John Christopher Jones's celebrated translation of The Cherry Orchard since its acclaimed 2011 run at Classic Stage Company. Known for its sharp wit, lyrical clarity, and fidelity to Chekhov's rhythms, Jones's version has long been admired but rarely produced.   For me, The Cherry Orchard is the summer I'll never get back, says Director Ryan Czerwonko. “It was an idyllic season in Cape Cod summer stock, performing at a theater that no longer exists, part of a tradition that's nearly vanished. That experience shaped my love for Chekhov and continues to energize me. Now, at 36, I'm both playing Lopakhin and directing, trying to stitch together the themes of that summer with my life today. I'm working-class turned artist class, often feeling unseen in a world that seems to care less and less for feeling itself. But I'm surrounded by a small, beautiful group of people sacrificing themselves to bring this vision to life. This production embraces the whirlwind of living—it's bittersweet, but mostly funny, fast, and a fight to be seen.”

Producer Jaclyn Bethany adds: “It's a masterful play, ahead of its time and pulsing with themes of family, abandon, loss, desire and the cycle of life. This production not only expands these themes but turns the play on its head. In this audacious, revisionist - anachronistic take on Chekhov, the audience is invited to discover a fantastical, pop-centric world rotting in the human condition. I am excited to support such an exciting, boundary-pushing production that holds a mirror up to our contemporary society and makes us question and appreciate the absurdity of our lives.