Anton Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard” is a story of  Russia in the throes of social upheaval. It takes place during  the last days of Lyubov Ranevskaya’s beloved estate, which is set to be auctioned, along with her famed cherry orchard. In the end, Ranevskaya is unable to save her estate. A former serf buys it at auction to turn it into a housing development. The last sound heard in the play is the chopping down of the cherry trees. I remember the first time I saw “The Cherry Orchard” at BAM in Brooklyn. It was a long and agonizing play and all the lamenting in it struck me as tiresome.…