As the new year falls upon us, Marin Theatre is gearing up for an evocative meditation on familial grief and generational change with their production of Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard.
With contemplative winter lingering, we’ll witness a story of excavating humanity from the ruins of loss and tragedy. Directed by Bay Area veteran Carey Perloff, the show opens in Mill Valley on Jan. 29.
So, what is this classic Russian play about? “The Cherry Orchard is about how much we long for change and how terrified we are when change finally presents itself,” Perloff details.
This plot point can be seen historically as well, as change often stems from loss, and from having to grow through challenges. Unprecedented times, anyone? Turns out, Chekov felt this keenly, as he finished the play, his final one, right on the heels of the 1905 revolution in Russia. His characters are a once-elite aristocratic family who now face the loss of their estate and the titular orchard therein, and struggle with losing their home, grappling with what comes next.
Perloff has experienced sudden change herself, witnessing the effects of the 2026 Palisades Fire’s destruction of her sister’s home. This unwelcome discord influenced her design concept for Orchard. And to that end, Perloff enlisted notable set designer Nina Ball to create a deconstructed manor that represents “the excavation of a family’s life…” as they sift through the past.
Ball draws modern parallels to the themes of love and loss with the experience that Perloff endured last winter: “We took some inspiration for the set in the horrible destruction of the LA fires… We were struck by the things that were left intact and how these items and their location in the ruins told a story…” To represent this, Ball framed the set as an old dollhouse. Touches like dolls and toy remnants scattered throughout, a ghostly staircase winding aimlessly and the natural, though still dangerous, world starting to come through the wreckage all evoke a haunted past.
While Chekov is a titan of classic literature, Perloff is passionate that Orchard is accessible to everyone: “To me, everything about Chekhov always feels entirely new. The play is truly radical—it shows people behaving as we really do at times of crisis rather than as we want to pretend we do…That’s what’s so brilliant about him—he shows you how life works without passing judgment.”
‘The Cherry Orchard’ runs Jan. 29 through Feb. 22 at Marin Theatre, 397 Miller Ave., Mill Valley. Various dates and times. $15-$89. 415.388.5208. marintheatre.org.
