Leaving the Orchard (The Chamber Theatre)
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Checking-In
Featuring Characters from Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard
Written and Directed by Martin French
Review by Kate Barry
Entire contents are copyright © 2026 Kate Barry. All rights reserved.
Step inside the Kleinhelter Gallery and a member of The Chamber Theatre hands you a ticket, one of two colors. One ticket sends you upstairs; the other sends you into the next room. What follows are intimate one acts between Ranevskyaya, Varya, Yermolai and Alexei from Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. These four characters discuss grief and moving on with a production that is revealing and intimate, leaving any pretension at the door.
If you think a play based on Chekhov's classic sounds boring, think again. The staging is fresh, consuming and easily accessible. The audience takes shape as onlookers and friends as mother and daughter discuss moving on from loss, a father and son find amends while a missed confession of love is redeemed. The performance is immersive and engaging, breathing a new perspective into a play that birthed method acting.
Divided into two acts that run a mere thirty minutes a piece, the production invites a casual atmosphere within the art gallery. In one room, Marth Frazier’s Ranevskaya welcomes her guests, offering wine or cucumber water to all. Frazier’s performance as the matriarch who sells the orchard is engaging with a twinge of romantic longing for the past. Paired with Bailey Preston’s Varya, she insists her daughter follow her heart instead of taking a job that could possibly pay a debt. Preston brings a stoic logic to her Varya which plays nicely against Frazier. Preston taps into Varya’s conflicting feelings of what she wants and what she desires. These conflicting feelings bring the act to a satisfying conclusion when Preston’s Varya is faced with a love she thought was lost with seconds to spare.
As Ranevskaya and Varya navigate matters of the heart, Jake Minton’s Yermolai is visited by the ghost of his father, Alexei, played by Zach Trinkle. Emotional and heart breaking at points, Minton’s Yermolai faces Alexei head on, confessing the impact of years of hurt. Minton does well to tap into an emotional vulnerability as he recounts memories of abuse and neglect. Trinkle’s Alexei is sharp tongued between swigs of vodka as he speaks with Yermolai about forgiveness and contrition. Trinkle and Minton present an honest performance as Alexei struggles to fully forgive his father. With such emotional burdens, a moment of sincere forgiveness is reached and the weight is lifted.
Checking-In takes Anton Chekhov’s tragicomedy and strips it down. The central characters remain as their stories take on new perspective. Regardless if you are familiar with The Cherry Orchard or not, this play explores what it means to move on and move forward.
Checking-In
The Chamber Theatre
January 29-31, 2026 February 5-7, 2026
Kleinhelter Gallery 701 E 8th Street New Albany IN 47150
