That means that for a couple of benignly stretched-out hours, Durang fans can watch a master of antic psycho-comedy play with Chekhov like a self-amusing cat toying with a tangled string. We seem to have wandered a long way from the blighted provinces of 19th-century Russia. You have permission to edit this article.

References to Chekhov, from character names to plot components, such as the cherry orchard, are frequent, but familiarity with Chekhov is not a prerequisite to understanding and enjoying this play. Patch Mayors are trusted local users who help moderate the Patch platform by promoting good local stories and flagging unwanted content.

In the play Vanya and Sonia’s quiet lives are disturbed by the surprise arrival of their movie star sister, Masha, accompanied by Spike.

Even if you’ve never read a word of Chekhov, you’re likely to find plenty to make you laugh: Mr. Hyde Pierce’s skillfully low-key comic discomfort; Ms. Nielsen’s segues from manic eruption into glazed smiling stupor; Ms. Weaver’s game sendup of every self-loving, self-doubting movie queen there ever was. Kudos to this talented performer, who frequently appears on the Nutmeg Junction radio show (but not the one I recorded unfortunately,) on another memorable performance. The other FRANKENSTEIN alums include David Fritsch (Viktor Frankenstein) as Vanya, Lana Peck (Frau Blucher) as Sonia and Maya Jennings Daley (Inga) in the role of Nina. The ease with which this actress switches to different voices came in handy for this role.

This monotonous existence is interrupted by the arrival of their sister, Masha (Ms. Weaver), a famous narcissistic actress who shows up with her latest lover, the much younger Spike (Billy Magnussen, reveling in a male bimbo role). From left, Kristine Nielsen as Sonia, Sigourney Weaver as Masha and David Hyde Pierce as Vanya play hapless stay-at-homes. You can cancel at any time.


), Ms. Weaver’s pinnacle of comic dudgeon comes when she returns from a costume party, got up as Disney’s Snow White, miffed because people have assumed she’s Norma Desmond or perhaps a Hummel figurine. New Milford, CT - I wanted so much to see the TheatreWorks New Milford production of VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE ever since I learned that it would be a theatrical reunion of many of the cast members from their fun production of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN last May. The views expressed here are the author's own. Even more galling, the usually unremarked-upon Sonia has stolen Masha’s thunder by dressing as Maggie Smith in “California Suite” — or rather Maggie Smith in “California Suite” playing the Evil Queen from “Snow White.”. The story is made up of scattered bits of Chekhov run through a contemporary plot processor. It is blander and thinner than much of this playwright’s distinctively loopy work.

Cassandra, natch. “Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them” was produced here in 2011, and just last month Kaye Weinstein Gary included three one-act works by Durang — who actually does live in Bucks County with his partner — in her evening of “Shorts.”. I appreciated the topical references; I lived within walking distance of a Wawa market as a child. Like the same-named figures in “Uncle Vanya,” they are hapless stay-at-homes who have never really lived.

The comedy is set in the present in a farmhouse in Bucks County Pennsylvania.
After a brief pause, Masha says, “Let’s cry some more.”, Richmond appears to be in the midst of a growing love affair with Durang’s work. Her competitive instincts are inflamed when the exquisite Nina (the exquisite Genevieve Angelson) wanders over from the house next door.

No credit card required. The dour prophecies forecast by Cassandra (Shalita Grant) only seem to confirm their dark-gray worldview.