Ep: 1893 Rachel Pastan - We're So Lucky To Live Here

After her mother’s death, theater director Gwen Rivlin is determined to keep the large, shabby turreted house where they grew up. But the cost, suburban setting, single-family zoning laws, and skeptical neighbors all seem determined to drive her out. Seeking both a way forward for the changing community and an escape from her grief, Gwen stages Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard inside her home—a play about a family fighting to save its own estate. She casts friends, coffee-shop coworkers, and local residents, transforming the house into a temporary theater and gathering place. As the production unfolds, Gwen begins repairing old relationships, confronting her complicated feelings about her mother, and discovering a new sense of belonging. Through art, community, and loss, she ultimately creates an unconventional family of her own. Rachel Pastan is the author of the acclaimed novels Alena, a NY Times Book Review “Editors’ Choice” and has taught at Bennington, Swarthmore, Temple and Drexel Universities.