AN ORCHARD FOR CHEKHOV at Upstream Theater Review

– By Cate Marquis –

Upstream Theater’s “An Orchard for Chekhov” is an affectionate tribute to playwright Anton Chekhov and specifically “The Cherry Orchard. While this comedy/drama is Chekhovian is form, and packed with references, snippets of Chekhov, Chekhovian-style dialog and even cherries (but not cherry trees), the real subject is a fading actress in Rio de Janeiro preparing for a production of “The Cherry Orchard.”

It is not “The Cherry Orchard” or a version of it, but a play about someone in love with the play and Chekhov’s work generally.

Alma Duran (a marvelous Sally Edmundson) is a once-famous stage actress now in the waning days of her long career, who we first meet carrying a lot of baggage – literally – as she arrives at the Rio de Janeiro airport. In the very funny opening scene, Edmundson’s Alma tries to hail a cab, somehow convinced fitting her ten-or-more suitcases into the trunk is no problem. In the process of wrestling her baggage as she tries to wave down an unseen cab, Edmundson ropes in an audience member, putting him to work carrying and stacking her suitcases, before rewarding him with a bouquet of roses and round of audience applause. But then she tells him she’ll need those flowers back later in the play.

The comic opener is charmingly funny. and brilliantly done by Sally Edmundson. It sets the tone for the absurd, and gets the play off to a strong start, while giving us sense of who this character is: charming, self-absorbed, and not very practical. Alma is on her way to stay with her daughter Isadora (Jocelyn Padilla) and her husband Otto (Aaron Orion Baker) in their condo, as she prepares for a new production of “The Cherry Orchard” where she will play Madame Ranevskaya, the mother of the character, Anya, that she famously played in her youth.

Alma’s daughter Isadora is a doctor but Alma wanted her to be an actress like her (a nice comic twist). The daughter had no interest in acting but her husband Otto, now a police captain, originally wanted to be an actor in his youth. Now, Otto’s major interest is watching soccer. Once successful, Alma’s finances now are strained, so she takes on a young student, Lala (Sarah Wilkinson) to help out while staying at her daughter’s condo. Isadora loves her impractical, artistic mother but husband Otto is growing impatient with having his mother-in-law camped out in his home.

The echoes of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” are all over this production, including its teetering between the comic and the tragic. There are frequent references to Chekhov and the play, and late in the first act, a character appears calling himself Chekhov (J. Samuel Davis), who claims to be the playwright, although maybe just has his name.

This is the U.S. premiere of Pedro Bricio’s play, which was translated from the Portuguese. The play, directed by Philip Boehm, is clearly a love letter to Chekhov, designed to to delight fans, but setting it in Bricio’s hometown of Rio makes a bit of a love letter to Rio as well.

All the Chekhov references are delightful and charming, and the performers handle the material well, particularly Sally Edmundson, who carries much of the play, and J. Samuel Davis as the colorful “Chekhov.” But all the cast are good, and makes good use of Patrick Huber’s cleverly-designed single set, which serves as several locations. The play does have something to say – about change, sifting roles in life and family – beyond just being an homage to Chekhov, but the plot feels a bit a bit unfocused and rambling at times.

Still, “An Orchard for Chekhov” is a treat for those who love Chekhov, although not quite as much as a treat as a production of “The Cherry Orchard” itself might have been.

Upstream Theater’s “An Orchard for Chekhov” is on stage at the Marcelle Theater, 3310 Samuel Shepard Dr, St. Louis, MO, through Nov. 23, 2025.

© Cate Marquis