The Cherry Orchard

The perennial favorite

Will it stay a perennial favorite now that my grandmother will no longer be patronizing her favorite theaters?

I was struggling with the design for a show, maybe The Cherry Orchard. (They are always a struggle, if it is easy it never looks very good.) I told my grandmother about it as she was passing through town on her way to a show. She didn’t have time to even cross the threshold of my new home, so from the stoop she benevolently tossed me a cherry of wisdom to throw on top of my graduate degree in design, “Just make everything white. That always looks good.” I don’t remember what I said. But I certainly found that simplified approach to what I do enormously insulting. My grandmother never cared whether she insulted a person, on the contrary, she enjoyed it. She smiled at my annoyance and gave a look that said, “Take it or leave it. I’m right.”

Rest in Peace, Annie. You were right.

Before I tell you my favorite, please take a look at some of the productions of The Cherry Orchard and …