A+Beautiful+Production?

For Modern Theological Questions, we read Salinger's "Franny and Zooey." In the book there is a reference to "The Cherry Orchard." It says, "Have you ever seen a really beautiful production of, say, The Cherry Orchard? Don't say you have. Nobody has. You may have seen "inspired" productions, "competent" productions, but never anything beautiful. Never one where Chekhov's talent is matched, nuance for nuance, idiosyncrasy for idiosyncrasy, by every soul onstage." I am not really sure what Salinger was trying to say here. Is he criticizing Chekov or is he criticizing anyone who tries to perform a work like Chekov's? I think that he is criticizing those trying to create a production of Chekov's play. It is almost as if he is saying that this play wasn't meant to be performed because it can never be performed perfectly. He sees the beauty in the writing, but not in the performing. Isn't that the point of a play, to be performed? I think that the character in general is criticizing show business because this is what they are talking about in the text surrounding this quote.

What do you think about this quote? What does it say specifically about "The Cherry Orchard"? 1205417433

I am also in that class and I remember that line from the book. This idea came up again when we watched Uncle Vanya, and how they chose to make the movie all about the characters and the dialogue, not about the setting really. Even still, I do not think it was a very well acted movie. I have never seen The Cherry Orchard performed, but I can only imagine that it is very difficult to make it look good. But I understand your point BGa because isn't the point of a play to perform it? If Chekhov knew he was writing such a difficult play to perform, why didn't he write a novel? My guess is that he didn't know it was very difficult to perform. He obivously had a reason for choosing a play format, and I can only imagine because much of the play is dialogue and little description is necessary. I always like plays, but I think that I would prefer to read The Cherry Orchard than see it because I think that bad acting can and will mostly likely take away from the depth of the dialogue. 1205424554

I am not in Father Bob’s class but I still feel that I can relate to this quote by Salinger. I am no expert in plays or anything like that but even Br. Tom mentioned that the Cherry Orchard was an extremely difficult piece to produce. Maybe nobody has quite mastered the production side of the play yet but I don’t think that it really matters all that much. I doubt any author would be really satisfied with every little aspect of his or her play when it was actually performed. I just think that many writers would be able to find one flaw in every performance. I think the important thing is the message being conveyed. If the play got the point across well then it shouldn’t have to be perfect/beautiful. I also think that Chekov knew he was writing a very difficult play to perform. If he’s that good at writing a play he would have at least some knowledge of the production challenges the play created. I think one of the reasons he wrote The Cherry Orchard as a play instead of a novel is all of the action Chekov left out. This play was one based on relationships between characters and we, as readers, depended on dialogue for clues as to what has happened between scenes or acts. If Chekov wrote a novel, he would need to fill in a lot of details with action and drama, something he might not have wanted to do. 1205440274

Great cross-textual reference, Bryanna! When I read the reference __to the Cherry Orchard__ in "Franny and Zooey," I merely chuckled and thought that it was ironic that I was reading the play at the same time. In the scene you pointed out, main character Zooey--a good looking actor and brilliant young man--was reading a letter from his older brother Buddy. Buddy knew of Zooey's spectacular talents--acting being one of them--so my interpretation is that Buddy is asking Zooey what he plans to get out of acting. Surely Zooey is a fine actor, but maybe Buddy is giving his talented brother the reality that not all acting is easy. "//How does that sound? And if you go into the theatre, will you have any illusions about that? Have you ever seen a really beautiful production of, say, The Cherry Orchard?"// Zooey had been on radio shows and in movies, so perhaps Buddy is giving his brother "guff" that not even he can be great at everything because some things--like the play __The Cherry Orchard__--are not meant to be great. Is it just that Chekhov's plays have difficult content to express?

And I find what kli expanded on to be valid in that __The Cherry Orchard__ would be a difficult play to produce. My only question, exactly, is WHY? Is it that the characters are so dynamic that actors may not portray the expected persona? That would be underestimating every actor's ability. Is it the dense dialogue? Would that confuse the audience? Would it be difficult to connect the scenery to the dialogue/plot? Or maybe the nuances of the play would not be picked up as much being heard compared to being read. Any other interpretations? 1205444807

This play was meant to be performed--but performed by certain people. Br. Tom read us an excerpt of one of Chekov's letters, and "The Cherry Orchard" was written to be played by certain people. Chekov wrote this play intending that a specific cast list be used. But I don't know why Chekov would do that. It almost makes the play un-actable now because the actors the play was intended are long gone. Ususally you find an actor for the play, not a play for the actor. Acting it out now probably wouldn't do it justice because it wasn't written for us to act. I don't doubt that there are actors out there who could handle this play and do a wonderful job with it, but that is not what Chekov intended. I don't know why Chekov would write a play that could only be performed for a few years, it doens't really make sense. Why would Chekov, or any writer for that matter, write a play that was intended for a specific cast list? It limits the play doesn't it? 1205449253

Haven't you heard of movie writers who write scripts with certain actors in mind, even if that actor doesn't take the role? Sometimes writers write a play or movie script with an image in mind, an image that includes certain actors. I don't feel like this limits the play, because a great work will always live on and find different actors who bring their own interpretations to it, even if it is not exactly what the writer originally envisioned. We still perform Shakespeare today, even though all the original actors are dead. Shakespeare wrote his plays for his acting troupe, knowing precisely who could perform each part, but I don't think his plays have been limited in any way. Chekhov's plays are hard for any actor to fully grasp and who knows if even the cast he wanted could have lived up to the challenge. If a play is truly that good, the play will not be limited by the cast, the cast will limit it. 1205450095

I remember when Br. Tom told us that Chekhov wrote this play with certain characters in mind I immediately thought about movies and how writers write scripts with a certain actor in mind. Usually the writer can find a replacement, sometimes they are satisied and other times they are not. Chekhov knew who he wanted. He even gave a part to his wife (is that right? it was his wife?). But I think Br. Tom said that the character his wife was supposed to play was done by somebody else and his wife was Madame Renevsky. A writer rarely sees what he truly wants in his plays. I am not in Fr. Bob's class however somebody mentioned this reference in class one day. This question of why there cannot be a beautiful production of this play is very tricky. I don't know what year franny and Zooey was written in, but here is my opinion anyway. I think that The Cherry Orchard cannot be performed beautifully is because we live in a different time period. Yes, I understand Shakespeare is still performed well nowadays, but we still can't act //exactly// like someone in Shakespeare's time. I think that the concepts that Chekhov was dealing with and the depth of his story is difficult to perform because only Chekhov truly understood his play. Maybe no one else could interepret it exactly the way he wanted it. 1205451969

I understand the difficulty of producing "The Cherry Orchard," however, I, like the others, wonder why Chekhov even bothered to write it as a play. If he wanted perfection, if he wanted the play to turn out in a quite specific way, then perhaps he ought to have written a novel which would never be perverted by an actor or director's interpretation. However, Chekhov DID write it as a play, so perhaps he wasn't striving for perfection.

I notice in the quote, though I haven't read the book, that it is acknowledged that productions of the play might have other aspects of merit, but none have achieve "beauty." Therefore, I wonder, was beauty Chekhov's intention? The play, as a whole, deals with the changes that time holds, and Chekhov never presents a clear answer about what he prefers, because there really isn't one. He gives the past its due, pointing out through Ranevsky and even Firs the loyalty and clarity that accompanied the past. However, he sees that the future, too, is useful, using Lopakhin's social advancement and Peter's academic ideas as methods of explaining the promise of the future. Therefore, Chekhov draws no conclusions and leaves us with no clear answer about where beauty can be found in the world, and in time. Perhaps the inability to grasp beauty when performing the play, then, comes from Chekhov's own uncertainty and therefore the lack of a definite sense of beauty in the play itself. Maybe Chekhov wanted actors to be free to find all those other things, like inspiration, in his play, so he wrote it as a play as a way to encourage others to add their own ideas, but really did not intend for beauty to be found. 1205455297

One aspect of the quote by Buddy, from __Franny and Zooey__, to keep in mind is Buddy's motive. Is Buddy really talking about the Cherry Orchard because he is a play critic who decides which plays are capable of being acted out and which plays are not? No. Buddy is trying help Zooey pursue his passion and follow his heart. The line about the Cherry Orchard could be a line to keep Zooey grounded, to remind him that following his heart may not come easy. And the Cherry Orchard is the perfect play for this line as the cherry orchard in The Cherry Orchard is the object of multiple viewpoints. In a similar sense, so is Zooey's potential. Buddy sees it as something to be acted up, as he tells Zooey to follow his heart, but Bessie, Zooey's mom, would prefer if Zooey got a pHD and had a stable career. The Cherry Orchard is also a perfect play to use because, acting out the Cherry Orchard, like following one's heart, is generally a path that encounters resistance. Looking at the context of this quote from __Franny and Zooey__ is critical. 1205469328