Excerpted from the review
by Robert L. Daniels

Monday, July 10, 2006

Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey a.d. Bonnie J. Monte  ... captures the joy and desperation of wasted lives with a disciplined tempo and an emotionally valid vision of czarist Russia 's fading old order. Monte has staged a haunting evocation of a 19th-century estate and its world-weary inhabitants.

Laila Robins offers a subtly vital performance as Mme. Ranevskaya, balancing her naivete and impractically frivolous nature with deep sorrow over the loss of her precious son. She brings a vibrant presence to the role. Gaev, an aging remnant from a long-gone romantic era, is played by Edmond Genest with a cavalier attitude and weathered charm. His sobbing resignation that all is gone is a touching portrait of deep despair.

As the peasant-born financier Lopakhin, Sherman Howard adds a blunt, practical portrait, and his unbridled joy when he gains control of the orchard is a big, booming revelation.

The absurdly ardent philosophical student Trofimof is acted explosively by Robbie Collier Sublett. Erin Partin's willowy Anya, the Varya of Alison Weller, and Stephanie Roth Haberle as a governess with a few tricks up her sleeve, all combine to provide a tender autumnal family portrait.

 Monte has united her actors as vital inhabitants of the same time and place, and her adaptation has a lovely balance of spirit and melancholy.

The old family retainer, Fiers, is played by Jim Mohr with doddering wit -- one can very nearly hear his bones rattle and crack. His sweet final moment, alone in the old manor house after everyone has left, is positively numbing.

'Cherry Orchard' blooms

Monday, July 10, 2006

Excerpted from the review

By Peter Filichia

That Anton Chekhov's been dead for more than 100 years is hard to believe, considering how strongly "The Cherry Orchard" mirrors 21st century America .

It will speak to discerning theatergoers who see the excellent production in Madison at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey.

Given that Chekhov said that "The Cherry Orchard" was a comedy -- many of his contemporaries disagreed -- he'd have been mighty pleased at the response at Saturday's opening. Much of the crowd roared at the naivete of both Madame and her brother. Even those who have the worst business sense know that standing financially still in the face of adversity does not solve problems.

Bonnie J. Monte could have had many problems herself, given that she took on three jobs: director, translator and sound designer. Instead, she did exemplary work on each.

As Madame Ranevskaya, Laila Robins expertly shows a woman who fiddles while Russia burns. As Lopakhin, Sherman Howard indeed burns when he sees his advice is falling on ears that might as well be deaf.

Edmond Genest is a superb Gaev.

Alison Weller is skillful as Varya...Robbie Collier Sublett ... is wonderfully eloquent. Caitlin Chuckta makes Dunyasha a saucy wench of a maid.

Marion Williams has designed an ingenious set that suggests the orchard, while Steve Rosen has lit it so that it looks as pretty as April in the nation's capital. What lovely costumes Maggie Dick has designed for the gentry -- and what appropriately less gaudy ones for the downstairs staff.

Robins does star turn in 'Cherry Orchard; ' production a triumph for Monte and theater

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Excerpted from the review

By Christopher Moore

There aren't enough adjectives for Laila Robins. Especially when it comes to her star turn in a stunning new production of "The Cherry Orchard," on view at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey through July 23.

And about that closing date: It is coming much too soon. In a civilized world, this show would move off-Broadway and stay there for the better part of a decade. It's almost impossible not to slip into superlatives when writing about something this smart and full of feeling.

Certainly this remarkable production represents, not for the first time, a triumph for Robins, her director and the Shakespeare Theatre. For her part, in a ninth season working with this exceptional theatrical company, Robins has found a role equal to her on-stage intensity and intelligence. She's never been particularly believable as an Average Jane. As Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya, a land owner confronted with the reality of selling the eponymous orchard, she is heartsick and vibrant, angry and funny, sad and spirited - sometimes all within a few seconds. Robins runs the gamut, always believably, and on her beautiful face play out the tragic themes of one of the best plays ever written.

Bonnie Monte ... has cast her "Cherry Orchard" to perfection. There is not a bad performance on display here. And nobody - not the cast, not Monte - gets in the way of the play. Monte's adaptation, based on a translation by Julius West, keeps the language simple and concepts alive.

...Edmond Genest, makes for a lovely and eventually devastating Leonid Andreyevitch Gaev...

Sherman Howard as Ermolai Alexeyevitch Lopakhin, gives a particular strong, but nuanced, performance...

Bernard Burak Sheredy is good and only gets better as a moocher with a serious side.

Jim Mohn as Fiers, a servant, is, like Chekhov, funny and devastating.

The women here look exactly as we would imagine the characters, thanks to costume designer Maggie Dick. The acting matches the look. Alison Weller never makes a false move as a young woman without much of a future. Erin Partin and young Caitlin Chuckta bring depth to roles that deserve to be multi-dimensional/ Stephanie Roth Haberle takes chances, and not just with her on-stage magic tricks, but they all pay off handsomely. She's hilarious and, well, then she's not.

Chekhov would probably admire this production a great deal. He's got an acceptable excuse for missing it. You don't.

Talkin' Broadway

July 2006
Excerpted from the review

By Bob Rendell

This solid, well acted Cherry Orchard is an essentially traditional production which nicely illuminates the script at hand and presents a good opportunity for theatregoers to reacquaint themselves with the play. It is especially recommended to those who have not had the opportunity or the good fortune to have seen it before.

There is an especially illuminating performance by Laila Robins as Madame Lyubov Ranevskaya. ... With a combination of expansiveness and control, Robins brings to vivid, three dimensional life, the intelligence, humanity and complexity of emotion beneath the surface of an outwardly frivolous woman. Brava!

There are solid performances in every role.

'Chekhov would be pleased'

Thursday, July 13, 2006
Excerpted from the review

By C.W. Walker

Over the years, as the artistic director of The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey on the campus of Drew University in Madison , Monte has brought a keen production eye and a well-tuned ear for translation to a variety of Russian works, from the well-known classics of Anton Chekhov to more obscure plays such as "The Forest" by Alexander Ostrovsky.

So, it was inevitable that she'd eventually turn her attention to Chekhov's masterpiece, "The Cherry Orchard." This offering wasn't on the schedule when the season's slate was first announced, but it's certainly a welcome addition

...Monte [has] assembled a first-rate, experienced cast consisting mostly of dependable veterans from the STNJ company to play these roles.

Show Business Weekly

July 2006

By Sean Michael O'Donnell

Not all great theater is found on Broadway as evinced by The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey's brilliant production of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard . With sumptuous costumes, lush sets, and exceptional performances, director Bonnie J. Monte brings the famed Russian playwright's transcendent work to its inevitable, wrenching resolution. Orchard opens on Lyubov Ranevskaya (Laila Robins in a spellbinding performance), who has returned from a self-imposed exile in Paris to her family's great estate in provincial Russia only to find that it has been put up for auction. Having squandered their once vast fortune, the family can no longer afford to pay the mortgage. As the auction date draws closer, Lyubov and her family stand idly by, unable or unwilling to save their property. Decidedly helpless, they are left to reminisce about the past and wax poetic about their beloved cherry orchard. As in all great Chekhovian plays, the characters in Orchard are cast as bystanders in their own lives. Events happen around them while indecision and inaction abound.

Monte directs Orchard with passion and purpose, and her adaptation is flawlessly faithful to Chekhov's style – evoking humor, honesty and tragedy, often in a single sentence. Marion Williams' set design and Steve Rosen's light design work in tandem to reveal a glorious cherry orchard that blossoms right before the audience. Maggie Dick creates a feast for the eyes with her precise turn-of-the-century costume designs.

The cast is superb, drawing richly-detailed and layered performances. Robins is luminous, embracing her character's flaws to deliver a thoroughly remarkable and wonderfully spontaneous performance. As Lyubov's daughters, Erin Partin and Alison Weller are magnificent. Partin's infectious energy highlights Anya's naiveté and Weller makes Varya perfectly heartbreaking. Robbie Collier Sublett is simply outstanding as Anya's love interest, Pyotr. If you have never been to The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, then now is the time to hop the NJ Transit to the suburb of Madison and see this breathtaking production.