Bill Rauch returns to Yale Repertory Theatre to kick off its 40th Anniversary Season with his new production of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, about the eternal struggle between progress and beauty. Fleeing a shattered love affair, the enchantingly restless Madame Ranevskaya returns to her Russian country estate. Unbeknownst to her, she's rushing headlong into grim news about the family finances and the future of her beloved cherry orchard. Her family, friends, and neighbors try to make her see reason, but with the sale of the orchard, an entire way of life faces extinction.

A story of mothers and daughters, failed romances and new possibilities, family traditions and changing times, Chekhov's timeless comedy is re-imagined for the Rep stage by Bill Rauch, one of today's truly visionary theatre artists.