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Family affair: 'Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike' a Chekhovian-inspired dark comedy
The cast of Adobe Theater鈥檚 production of 鈥淰anya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.鈥�
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The playwright Christopher Durang once insisted that, despite its familiar namesakes, 鈥淰anya and Sonia and Masha and Spike鈥� isn鈥檛 an Anton Chekhov parody.
鈥淚 take Chekhov scenes and characters and put them into a blender,鈥� he explained.
The Adobe Theater is performing the play from Friday, April 19, through May 12.
Middle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia live in the family home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Named after Chekhov鈥檚 characters by their theater-enthusiast professor parents, Vanya and Sonia have not had to grow up. After spending their adulthood looking after their now-dead parents, neither has a job, and money is provided by their movie star sister Masha, who owns the house and pays the bills.
Vanya (who is gay) and Sonia (who is forever reminding everyone that she was adopted) spend their days reflecting on their lost chances, debating whether the grove of nine cherry trees on their property constitutes an orchard, and bemoaning their rather Chekhovian lot in life. The only other resident of the house is their cleaning woman Cassandra, who, like her namesake, is prone to making dire prophecies that no one believes.
The family is about to lose their home.
鈥淪he鈥檚 kind of a soothsayer who comes in to save the family in an odd way,鈥� said director Daniel Anaya. 鈥淪he sees what turmoil they鈥檙e going through.鈥�
Washed-up star Masha is tired of paying all the bills.
鈥淪he鈥檚 sick and tired of supporting her brother and sister,鈥� Anaya continued. 鈥淔amily problems are brought up. Sonia is an adopted sister. She tells Masha, 鈥榃hile you were off making movies, I was taking care of your parents.鈥� 鈥�
Vanya writes a play about a molecule. It鈥檚 his way of letting audiences know they are creating their own doom through climate change and social media.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of those plays where you know you鈥檙e watching a comedy, but it鈥檚 a dark comedy,鈥� Anaya said.
The play opened on Broadway in 2013. The original McCarter Theatre, Off-Broadway and Broadway casts included David Hyde Pierce and Sigourney Weaver. In 2013, it won the Tony Award for Best Play and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, among other awards.
The play stars Yannig Morin as Vanya; Megan McCormick as Sonia; Robin Havens-Parker as Masha; Isaac Carrillo as Spike; Matthew Van Wettering as Cassandra; and Emily Cox as Nina.
