The Cherry proudly kicked off our new year of shows with As You Like It, performing Shakespeare’s cheeky classic to our largest audience yet! We are continuing our year with innovative and joyful performances, which include movement-based work, a US premiere, and a brand-new family holiday show. If you’re excited to see these works come to life, join us today as a 2023-24 member.
- As You Like It (Aug 4–13, 2023) is one of the bard’s most beloved comedies, featuring one of his most exciting heroines, Rosalind, who dresses as a man and marches into the forest to save the day. The play is chock full of songs written by some of Ithaca’s most iconic songwriters, including Jennie Lowe Stearns, Nate Silas Richardson (of the Sim Redmond Band) and Maddy Walsh (of The Blind Spots).
- Air Heart (Oct 9–19, 2023) is a one-woman aerial performance about feminist icon Amelia Earhart. Performing on a 13-foot spinning steel airplane sculpture, creator Mara Neimanis reinvents physical theatre with intense physicality and raw charisma. The Washington Post says: “Neimanis makes the impossible look supremely easy.”
- Peter and the Wolf (Dec 7–17, 2023): The Cherry’s General Manager Jen Pearcy-Edwards animates Prokofiev’s classic musical story with physical theater and circus! Peter and his animal friends prove they can defeat even the most ferocious foe—and in the process provide young audiences with an introduction to orchestral music.
- Carbon (April 4–14) features a man who has had an encounter with an extra-terrestrial. With an Ithaca connection to Carl Sagan’s Voyager 1 photograph selections, this stunning, award-winning new play from Italy explores what it means to be human in the infinity of the universe. And see its premiere in the US and English language!
- La Cerise Noire (May 10-11): The Cherry’s thrilling, scandalous, neo-vaudeville cabaret returns. Featuring the best of Ithaca’s burlesque, circus, music and magic, all tied up in a sizzling package.
- June Dance (June 3-9) will feature a seven-day creative residency with NYC’s award winning Passion Fruit Dance Company, including two weekend performances and community workshops.
None of these works are possible without the funders, sponsors, and donors who support our work year-round. Members are audience members like you, who are interested in the work produced by the Cherry and want to support its development in our community. As a member, you’ll be invited to special events with the artists, sit in the best seats in the house, and receive complimentary concessions. Become a member today.
We are grateful to work with our season media sponsors: the Ithaca Times, Cinemapolis, and WRFI. These performances are made possible in part with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants program from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the office of the Governor and NYS Legislature, and from Tompkins County; administered by the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County.