Jessica Lange Likely to Star in Cherry Orchard in London and New York

Will Jessica Lange return to the stage this fall? She is in talks to star in a production of Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard, directed by John Doyle, that would premiere in London in October before moving to Broadway, according to Variety.

Lange made her Broadway stage debut in the 1992 revival of Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. She starred in the play again in 1996, this time in the West End production. She also starred in a made-for-television movie of the drama, earning a Golden Globe Award for her performance. During the 2000-2001 season, Lange returned to the West End to star in Long Day's Journey Into Night, receiving an Olivier Award nomination for her performance. In 2005, she headlined a Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie, which did not fare very well with critics and struggled at the box office. An acclaimed film actress, Lange has garnered six Academy Award nominations and two Academy Awards one for her lead role in Blue Sky and one for her supporting turn in Tootsie. This fall she will be seen on the small screen in a remake of Sybil and on the big screen in Bonneville.

The Cherry Orchard is about a world in transition, where a group of uprooted characters attempt to figure out their fate when history renders their way of life obsolete. Madame Ranevskaya the role Lange would play is called home from Paris to Russia and must deal with the imminent sale of her family's estate, including their beloved cherry orchard. Yermaolai Lopakhin, a former serf from the estate and newly successful businessman offers the solution to all their problems.

The Cherry Orchard was last seen on Broadway in 1997, when the Moscow Sovremennik Theater Company brought its production of the classic to the Martin Beck Theatre for a very limited run. In 2001, plans were announced to bring a National Theatre mounting of the play, starring Vanessa and Corin Redgrave, to the Great White Way, but Actors' Equity which must give its permission in order for British actors to appear on Broadway blocked the production. Last year, Atlantic Theater Company did its own production of the drama for a limited engagement off-Broadway. Earlier this year a high-profile revival of The Cherry Orchard, starring Annette Bening and Alfred Molina, took place at California's Mark Taper Forum.