Reza de Wet plays have drawn on Russian author Anton Chekhov as inspiration. DRIE SUSTERS TWEE (THREE SISTERS TWO) have the characters of Chekhov's THREE SISTERS moving to the structure and rhythm of THE CHERRY ORCHARD. The shadowy undertow of UNCLE VANYA, so carefully concealed behind Chekhov's lively dialogues, became the expressionistic spirit in the award winning YELENA. This year, opening at the National Arts festival, de Wet's ON THE LAKE borrowed from THE SEAGULL, recalling the life of the actress Nina, who longs for freedom; Madame Arkadina, losing the battle against the passing of youth; and Polina, whose life consists of dashed
Cherry Sisters in modest circumstances. The Cherry sisters were the daughters of Thomas and Laura Cherry. The family was composed of eight children: Ella, Elizabeth, Addie, Effie, and Jessie, their brother Nathan, and two additional siblings who died at young ages. Ella, the eldest, was born in the early 1850s in Massachusetts, but the remainder of the children were born in Iowa, and were raised on a farm in Linn County. The Cherry Sisters' vaudeville act was formed in the early 1890s, after the death of their parents and the disappearance of their brother Nathan. Originally all five sisters were involved, however,