As the sisters in Russian Revolution-era Ekaterinburg sit under house arrest, they rehearse Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, the famed play about the coming of change.
The Atlantic 453 staging is directed by Karen Kohlhaas (Atlantic's Frame 312) and features Ellen Crowley-Etten, Katherine Emmer, Elizabeth Malone and Carla Rzeszewski. The title is made up of the first letter of each girl's name.
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Performances play Atlantic's intimate sister space at 453 W. 16th Street (between Ninth and Tenth Avenues). Meanwhile, at the Off-Broadway company's West 20th Street mainstage, Tom Donaghy's new version of The Cherry Orchard continues to July 3 (opening is June 15).
Playwright Ryan began her career in 1985 as a winner of the Young Playwrights Festival. Her adaptation of Dorothy Allison's novel, "Cavedweller," premiered at New York Theatre Workshop and was published Dramatists Play service. OTMA was recently produced at the Ekaterinburg Youth Theatre in Russia. G-d Doesn't Pay Rent Here, written with and for comedian Judy Gold, will be seen at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on June 22 before playing the Montreal Comedy Festival July 16-22. Her adaptation of Ann Bannon's "The Beebo Brinker Chronicles" with collaborator Linda Chapman will be produced in New York in spring 2006. Director Kohlhaas is a founding member of Atlantic Theater Company. Her recent productions include Keith Reddin's Frame 312 (Atlantic), David Mamet's Boston Marriage (The Public Theater), An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein (Practical Theatre Company, Sydney and Atlantic).
OTMA plays 8 PM Tuesday June 14, and then a schedule of Wednesday-Saturday at 8 PM and Sundays at 3 PM. There is a June 18 matinee at 2 PM. No performance June 19.
All tickets are $20, $15 for members. For reservations, call (212) 691-5919, ext. 123.
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"Atlantic 453 is a black box space which serves as a second performance venue for the Atlantic Theater Company," according to the company's mission statement. "The aim is to produce intriguing, worthy new plays that might not otherwise find a New York production. Now in its second season of full production, Atlantic 453 was inaugurated with the acclaimed, sold-out production of Jeff Whitty's The Hiding Place and has presented Jessica Goldberg's Get What You Need and Ken Weitzman's Arrangements. Atlantic 453 offers emerging writers production opportunities when Atlantic's main stage season is fully occupied. Atlantic believes that playwrights develop their talent and craft best by participating in the entire creative process of a play from the printed page to the fully realized production. By presenting new writers on 16th Street, Atlantic continues its long-standing tradition of cultivating new work."
