In homage to Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, this ensemble play examines the disappearing middle class in the swing state of Wisconsin. It’s the era of Tea Partiers, undocumented “Dreamers,” organic farming and fracking — and they all collide in a small community where being nice and rooting for the Packers are bond. While the story backdrop is rife with harsh political realities, the singular story core is in the heart and humanity of the characters’ lives. The personal meets the partisan, community meets capitalism and local meets global at Breitwisch Farm.

ESPERANCE THEATER COMPANY is pleased to present the world premiere production of BREITWISCH FARM, a new play inspired by Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, written by Jeremy J. Kamps, and directed by Ryan Quinn.

Starring Danaya Esperanza* (New York Theatre Workshop’s Mary Jane), Katie Hartke* (Bedlam’s Sense and Sensibility), Will Manning*, Charlie Murphy* (The Public’s All’s Well That Ends Well and Measure for Measure), Maria Peyramaure*, Alejandro Rodriguez* (King Lear with Billy Porter), Joe Tapper* (Broadway revival of You Can’t Take It With You; The Public’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and Katie Wieland* (The Public’s All’s Well That Ends Well).

Featuring scenic design by Alexander Woodward, costume design by Kaitlyn McDonald, lighting design by Leslie Smith, and sound design by William Neal. Emily C. Rolston* is the production stage manager.

*Appearing Courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association.

There’s been some well-intentioned talk in the last couple of years about how artists might help bridge the chasm between red states and blue, or—maybe even trickier—the gap between red and blue factions within a single community. So far, the talk seems not to have led to much action. But Breitwisch Farm, an ambitious Off-Off Broadway play by Jeremy J. Kamps (staged by Esperance Theater Company at Town Stages), may be onto something Kamps’ strategy? Rely on a little Russian influence. The play—set in rural Wisconsin in 2010-2011—is based loosely on The Cherry Orchard (1903), the last great play of Anton Chekhov. Kamps is certainly not slavish in his emulation. To begin with, the characters in his play are hardly aristocrats. A major character of Chekhov’s—the matriarch Madame Ranevskaya—has an equivalent of sorts in Kamps’ scenario, but she is entirely an offstage character, a woman reaching the end of her days. An outspoken progressive, Constance (“Connie”) Breitwisch seems to have earned a measure of respect in her community, though some neighbors have called her “Commie” behind her back. But she has apparently mismanaged the farm’s finances, and a foreclosure process looms—thoug …Read more