Anyone who wears a tiara and sequins is always going to be the winner — or so says Christopher Durang, the playwright for “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” which opens at the Aloha Theatre tonight and runs through Aug. 2.
Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” is a funny evening of absurd satire from the master of satire, Durang.
“Durang is a wonderful, satirical playwright,” said Aloha Performing Arts Compnay Artistic Director Jerry Tracy. “He’s a very insightful writer who can really express societal failings and norms, and make it funny without being damaging or hurtful.”
Durang borrows characters and plotlines from Russian playwright, Anton Chekhov, and humorously combines them into a farcical family comedy. However, one does not need to be familiar with Chekhov’s work to enjoy the show, which includes entertaining monologues, as well as comical confrontations.
The play starts in an idllic country home in Bucks County, Penn., with middle-aged siblings Vanya (John Holliday) and Sonia (Kerry Matsumoto). The pair are seen grumbling and fretting over their life circumstances, as neither of them have ever been employed, or even close to having a serious relationship. Eventually, their movie-star sister, Masha (Robin O’Hara) dramatically arrives at the door with her new boy toy, Spike (Nicholas Lachelier), who is happiest when he’s running around in his underwear, which is quietly enjoyed by Vanya. When Masha threatens to sell the family home, things begin to heat up.
“I saw the show on Broadway at the Golden Theatre in 2013 with Sigourney Weaver and David Hyde Pierce, and I was blown away,” said Tracey. “It’s a very moving and very funny show about adult siblings who have taken care of their elderly parents. Their elderly parents are now gone and they’re still living in the family home, but they have no life. They have another sister who is a fading movie star who brings a boy toy who’s half her age who likes to go swim in the pond in his underwear. She comes home to tell the siblings that she is selling the house, which of course throws everyone into a panic.”
Also in the cast are the sassy, and clairvoyant maid Cassandra (Sara Hagen), and a pretty young aspiring actress named Nina (Tiffany Kutsunai), whose attractive appearance is somewhat threatening to haughty Masha.
“The housekeeper is a psychic of sorts,” said Tracey. “She does some voodoo and all kinds of strange, wonderful, weird things. She finally convinces Masha that she should not sell the house. Masha then discovers the boy toy she brought home is having an affair with her personal assistant, so she banishes him onto a bus and sends him away.”
Although “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” is a comedy, darker elements sometimes pervade its themes, being described as a “sunny play about gloomy people.” And although most adults will not find the contents objectionable, the sophisticated humor will most likely bore younger children.
There’s nothing subtle about the humor, nor the despair, in “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.” It’s simultaneously intelligent and emotionally uncomfortable. It takes both the sad and ridiculous and mixes it in a blender to create a satisfying theatrical cocktail. It’s difficult to make comedy look easy, but Durang artistically succeeds.
The show is a comical look at aging, self esteem, sibling relationships. Complete with a happy ending that is novel for Durang, whose earlier plays are somewhat dark and edgy, VSMS goes down a bit smoother, even if the family is uncomfortably dysfunctional. “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” is the perfect excuse to escape the heat, laugh out loud, and enjoy some eye candy courtesy of Lachelier.
Completing the cast and crew are: Annabelle Treacy, assistant director; Kitty Powell, producer; Gerald Lucena, set designer; Kathryn Mayer, props and stage manager; Kaitlin Moore, costume, hair, and makeup designer; Gill Pecceu, sound designer; Justyn Toyama, sound operator; boB Gage, lighting designer; Sam Valenti, lighting operator; Mia Kriebl-Bruno, assistant stage manager; Jeannie Kutsunai and Barbara Masters, house managers; Paula Cornwell, consessions; Sharyn Toyama, box office; Mark Murdock, lead set builder; Gill Pecceu, technical director; and Melissa Geiger, operations director.
“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” runs tonight through Aug. 2 at Aloha Theatre in Kainaliu. Showtimes are Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Ticket are $22 for adults, $20 for seniors/young adults and $10 for those younger than 18.
For tickets, call 322-9924 or visit www.apachawaii.org.