The Cherry Orchard question

[Keiichi2]

Posted: 7/19/16 at 5:37pm

So, I'm considering ordering a ticket for The Cherry Orchard for my upcoming November trip after readying the synopsis on Wikipedia.  I was originally considering Les Liasons Dangereuses, but the synopsis for Orchard intrigues me, and the cast for this particular revival sounds downright irresistible. 

 

My question is the play is in 4 acts, according to the synopsis.  To anyone who has seen this play in the past, how is it performed?  Are there 2 intermissions?  Usually how long is the show?  The length may determine whether I make this an afternoon or an evening performance for my upcoming trip. 

Updated On: 7/19/16 at 05:37 PM

[playbill-love]

Posted: 7/19/16 at 6:08pm

This is a new adaptation so it is pretty impossible to say how many intermissions there will be or what the rub time will be. A quick google search returned several reviews of different adaptations of the play that ran between 2 and 3 hours.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 9:31am

I don't know about the new adaptation, but it seems to be that both plays are of significant length, but well worth your time.

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 9:35am

The last two professional productions of the production I've seen were at BAM (directed by Sam Mendes; translated by Tom Stoppard) and at Classic Stage (directed by Andrei Belgrader; translated by John Christopher Jones). Both productions presented the play with one intermission. The Mendes/Stoppard production was about 2:45; the Belgrader/Jones production was shorter (2:15 or so). I would say that 2:30-2:45 is a standard length.

[Keiichi2]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 1:43pm

Looking at the times for the performance makes me think it might be a lot longer.  When I went on the Roundabout website to order tickets, the matinee I looked at was at 1 PM, while the evening was at 7.  I know 7:00 evening shows are fairly common, but I was surprised by the 1:00 matinee, and made me think it might be a long production.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 1:47pm

The full play shouldn't run more than 2:45. It's not an unusually lengthy play.

[10086sunset]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 1:48pm

Spoke to someone at the Roundabout and was told they have no idea of the runtime yet.

 

Updated On: 7/20/16 at 01:48 PM

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 1:58pm

There's no way they could possibly know the running time yet.

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 2:06pm

Keiichi2 said: "Looking at the times for the performance makes me think it might be a lot longer.  When I went on the Roundabout website to order tickets, the matinee I looked at was at 1 PM, while the evening was at 7.  I know 7:00 evening shows are fairly common, but I was surprised by the 1:00 matinee, and made me think it might be a long production.

 

"

Only the performances between November 8-18 have early curtain times. Roundabout always has one week of early curtains during their runs, presumably for the benefit of their older subscribers or to appeal to weeknight theatergoers who want to get home early. It has nothing to do with the play's length in this case. No idea why this production is extending it from a week to ten days.

All other performances begin at the traditional times (8pm for evenings and 2pm for matinees).

[Keiichi2]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 2:22pm

Ah, thanks a lot.

[Keiichi2]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 2:32pm

Got my ticket for Thursday, November 17 at 7 PM.  Once I book Falsettos in a couple weeks, my line up of 7 shows for my upcoming trip will be completely purchased!

 

Very good line up this year!  Here's hoping the Fall 2016 season will be a memorable one.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 2:52pm

Maybe due to unions but Broadway now seems to do plays that traditionally had two intermissions with just one (even extremely long plays like the recent Long Day's Journey and, I believe, Virginia Woolf)

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 2:55pm

Both recent Broadway revivals of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (2005 and 2012) had two intermissions. This season's production of Long Day's Journey is not the first to present the play with only one intermission. The Vanessa Redgrave production had two intermissions and ran well over 4 hours.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 3:05pm

Thanks!  I was thinking Virginia Woolf would be even harder than Long Day's Journey to find an appropriate spot for just one intermission.  However shorter plays like Streetcar and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof have recently just used one intermission, no?  (I kinda like the two intermission structure for those plays...)  I did see a quite strong regional Long Day's this Spring that ran 3:45 with both intermissions.

I was wondering about union overtime.  Recently choreographer Ratmansky talked about his gorgeous partial reconstruction of the original Sleeping Beauty ballet that he staged for American Ballet Theatre two or so seasons back and why he cut the famous Panorama sequence.  He said it was because that would have pushed the ballet over three hours which would push costs (although I suspect part of it is the special effect for the Panorama is expensive in and of itself--many companies cut it). 

 

[AC126748]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 3:07pm

I could be mistaken, but I'm remembering two intermissions in both of the most recent CAT revivals (ScarJo and the all-black cast of 200. I think the Jessica Chastain HEIRESS had two, as well. STREETCAR is frequently done with just one these days.

[carnzee]

Posted: 7/20/16 at 3:30pm

A Delicate Balance (2014) also had two intermissions.