With “The Cherry Orchard,” Mălăele introduces us to Chekhov, a writer with a humor of strange ambiguity (you don’t know whether to cry or laugh!) and an extraordinary zest for life and laughter. More than a century after its first staging, Chekhov’s text remains open to interpretation. Many have tried to unravel the mystery of The Cherry Orchard, discovering at times a drama, at times a farce, at times a melodrama, or a tragicomedy. Mălăele’s “The Cherry Orchard” is all of these things at once—and a little more. It’s a carousel of moods, emotions, sensations, and pastel hues.

And yet, after all this talk, the cherry orchard is being sold. A world is coming to an end, and with it, a part of us. From now on, the champagne tastes of nostalgia and the past.

Mălăele captures the Chekhovian poetry of loss, yet he does not leave us indifferent to the fleeting beauty of the cherry blossoms.

Mălăele’s “The Cherry Orchard” is like a smile through tears.

Translated by Andreea Codrea-Boeriu 

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