Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Opening Night: March 14, 2013
Closing: August 25, 2013
Theater: Golden Theatre
Riffing on some of Anton Chekov’s most time-tested themes, Christopher Durang proves in his hysterically funny and surprisingly affecting new romp, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, that whether you’re in 19th Century Russia or 21st Century Pennsylvania, the human condition never changes. Vanya (Pierce) and Sonia (Nielsen) have never left the confines of their childhood home – a rambling farmhouse in Bucks County, PA – while having to witness the glamorous exploits of their sister, Masha (Weaver), a famous movie actress, from afar. A surprise visit from Masha and her 20-something boy toy, Spike (Magnussen), throws the normally quiet household int0 utter upheaval as its residents and visitors get swept up in an intoxicating mixture of lust, rivalry, regret, and the sudden possibility of escape. Only one thing is certain: no one will get out of this without looking absolutely ridiculous! The creative team will feature David Korins (Scenic Design), Emily Rebholz (Costume Design), Justin Townsend (Lighting Design), and Mark Bennett (Original Music and Sound Design).
BUY TICKETSREAD THE REVIEWS:
March 14, 2013
Did you hear there’s been an outbreak of mugging in a certain bucolic neighborhood of Bucks County, Pa., where many a moneyed Manhattanite has a summer retreat? I guess you’re not safe anywhere these days. Kidding! The mugging I refer to is not in the actual Bucks County, but in the fictional version found in Christopher Durang’s comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which opened on Broadway after a sellout Off Broadway run. And the only people getting conked on the head in this epidemic are audience members, fielding a barrage of theatrical in-jokes. They seem to be taking to it quite nicely.
READ THE REVIEWMarch 14, 2013
In most theaters, the sight of someone pulling out a cellphone and texting during a performance is very much frowned upon. In the world of Christopher Durang, the guy texting is actually onstage interrupting a play he’s watching.
READ THE REVIEW
March 14, 2013
Few Chekhov-inspired shows make you laugh out loud, and repeatedly at that. In fact there’s probably just one such rare bird on the planet: Christopher Durang’s riotous “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.” Luckily for us it just opened on Broadway, after a recent run Off — and it’s the rare transfer where the show improved.
READ THE REVIEWMarch 14, 2013
Most playwrights will tell you Anton Chekhov influenced them in some shape or form. A few brave ones have even penned homages to the Russian dramatist’s work (Wendy Wasserstein’s The Sisters Rosensweig), adaptations of his greatest hits (David Mamet’s The Three Sisters, Tom Stoppard’s Ivanov, Sarah Ruhl’s Uncle Vanya, Michael Frayn’s The Cherry Orchard), modern takes on his short stories (Neil Simon’s The Good Doctor), and even new plays using his classic characters (Brian Friel’s Afterplay). But leave it to Christopher Durang to throw everything but the samovar into Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, the terrifically kooky new Chekhovian comedy that just opened at Broadway’s Golden Theatre after a late 2012 Off Broadway run
READ THE REVIEWMarch 14, 2013
When Christopher Durang’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” opened off-Broadway in November, I called this seriously silly play the funniest show in town, yet one with an emotional kick that lifted it to a more rarefied plane.
READ THE REVIEW