The Cherry Artists’ Collective presents ‘Ithaca Fever’ world premiere 

The Cherry Arts is delighted to present the world premiere of Ithaca Fever by award-winning playwright Saviana Stanescu, opening Friday, April 11 at the Cherry Artspace, 102 Cherry St.

Ithaca Fever tells the story of Clara, a Romanian journalism professor who broke up with her home country and has been traveling the world. In 2020, she arrives in Ithaca only to be quarantined with COVID. Housebound in the old Treman mansion, she fever-dreams back to 1903 to witness the Treman family’s role in Ithaca’s fatal Typhoid epidemic. Can she right the wrongs of the past?

The Cherry’s brand-new play uncovers a fascinating story of Ithaca’s history and poses enduring questions about the ethics of epidemic, private enterprise, and the dreams of the immigrants that make our country what it is. The first-ever Cherry production to be approved by the National Endowment for the Arts for a prestigious Grants for Arts Projects award, Ithaca Fever is a collaboration with the History Center in Tompkins County. 

Ben Sandberg, Executive Director of the History Center says, “We are thrilled to support the Cherry’s important artistic work in our community. Artistic mediums like live theater are a profoundly important vehicle to a deeper understanding of our shared past. We’re excited that Saviana Stanescu and the team at the Cherry are grounding this innovative production in the many pieces of history preserved in our archives and collections.”

Samuel Buggeln, Artistic and Executive Director of the Cherry Arts, undertook the archival research of local history, contributing to the development of Stanescu’s script.     

“The Cherry is particularly proud that Ithaca Fever is a big-scale, brand new project that brings together multiple Ithaca organizations, including the History Center in Tompkins County,” says Buggeln. “We expect it will attract new audiences we can welcome into the Cherry family!”

Cherry Collective playwright Saviana Stanescu is an Ithaca-based Romanian artist and winner of New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Play and the UNITER Award for Best Romanian Play. She is the recipient of a New York State Council on the Arts grant for the development of Ithaca Fever. 

The production is directed by native Ithacan Sarah Plotkin, known for her work with Walking on Water Productions, Fitz&Starts Productions, Hangar Theatre, Story House Ithaca, and Civic Ensemble. 

“Having grown up in Ithaca, it’s very exciting for me to get to learn about the city’s history with Typhoid and the Treman’s involvement,” says Plotkin. “This show feels like a gift to our community, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to help bring it to life!”

She is joined by lighting designer Tyler M. Perry, costume designer Iris Estelle, projection designer Mustafaa Ali, sound designer Rosa Maassen, livestream designer Karen Rodriguez and associate Greg Levins, dialect coach Max Lorn-Krause, and intimacy director Priscilla Hummel. The production stage manager is Emily Pugh.

The cast features Mike Chen (the Cherry’s Rosa and Blanca) as Huy and Eben, Riley Marie Fortin as Maria, Jennifer Ann Galvez (credits with National Asian American Theater Company and MA-YI Theater) as Eliza and Tala, Barb Geary (the Cherry’s Baba Yaga and And What Happens If I Don’t) as Clara, Natasha Keller (Hangar Theatre, Encore Players) as Jeannie Waterman and Ithaca Daily Journal, Max Lorn-Krause (Ithaca Shakespeare Co.) as Pavel and William T. Morris, Craig MacDonald (the Cherry’s Rule of Thumb and Hangar Theatre credits) as Duncan Campbell Lee, Darcy Rose (the Cherry’s Rosa and Blanca) as Anna Louisa Treman, and Juniper Rose as Louisa “Lulu” Treman.