VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE


Christopher Durang’s trio of hilariously squabbling siblings are back (along with a sexy boy toy named Spike) in Pacific Resident Theatre’s winning take on Vanya And Sonia And Masha And Spike.

Despite a title evocative of at least two Chekhovian classics, even those who don’t know their Cherry Orchard from Cherries Jubilee will find themselves taken by 50something gay fuddy-duddy Vanya (Brad Greenquist), his dowdy adopted younger sister Sonia (Tania Getty), and the twosome’s “ageless” movie star sis Masha (Martha Hackett), whose box office grosses have kept the long-bickering older siblings comfortably ensconced in an aging Bucks County country house kept spic-and-span by sassy soothsaying cleaning lady Cassandra (Cyndy Fujikawa).

Then comes the day the glamorous, globetrotting, five-times married Masha shows up unannounced, 20something would-be actor Spike (Taubert Nadalini) in tow and a piece of bad news in store for her unwitting siblings.

With a lover at least twenty years her junior who’s more than willing to strip down to his skin-tight boxer briefs at a moment’s notice, it’s no wonder Masha isn’t all that thrilled when spunky young Spike introduces her to the Hardwicks’ fresh-faced next-door neighbor Nina (Miranda Wynne), an aspiring thespian who’s pleased  as punch to be heading off with the titular foursome to a Disney-themed costume party, even if it means dressing as Dopey to her favorite actress’s Snow White.

Playwright Durang may have abandoned his Beyond Therapy/Baby With the Bathwater théâtre de l’absurd roots for more “traditional” fare in his biggest Broadway hit to date, but fans can rest assured. Vanya And Sonia And Masha And Spike is one of the funniest, most satisfying comedies you’re likely to see any time soon, and filled with characters who are alternately quirky and charming and irritating and hilarious and yet somehow utterly real.

Durang certainly knows how to make an audience laugh, whether it’s the still-single-at-52 Sonia describing her latest nightmare (“I dreamt I was 52 and I wasn’t married!”) or Masha informing her siblings how often she thinks of them. (“I get called to the set and months go by and I forget to call.”)

Under Victoria Pearlman’s astute direction, lead players Greenquist, Getty, and Hackett eschew the broader strokes of others who’ve played Vanya and Sonia and Masha before them, and their grounded, subtly shaded performances are no less effective at eliciting laughs.

Greenquist’s delightfully droll sad sack of a Vanya delivers an eleventh-hour rant on the joys of growing up in the quieter, simpler 1950s that’s as funny and poignant and powerful as tour-de-force soliloquies get.

A terrific Getty gives Sonia a girl-next-door likeability toned down to match the drabness of her day-to-day existence, that is until an unexpected invite to a neighbor’s costume party brings out her inner glamour-girl to dazzling effect.

Hackett’s take on movie star Masha may be less flamboyantly a Diva! than those I’ve seen before her, but it’s entirely in keeping with the tone established by director Pearlman, and she scores loads of laughs as a ticked-off Snow White.

Nadalini is a hunky hoot as the seemingly dumb (but maybe more than a little bit crafty) Spike, Wynne makes for the most radiant and ebullient of Ninas, and Fujikawa’s deliciously dry take on Cassandra pretty much steals the show every time she soothsays.

Scenic designer William Wilday’s set has a drabber, more somber look than I’d have preferred for a living room Durang describes as “sunny,” but his lighting is effective as is Renata Finamore’s delicate, airy musical soundtrack, and Paula Bonhomme’s costumes suit each character (both real and fairytale) to a T.

Ryan McRee is dramaturg. Julie Newell is set painter. Bianca Martucci Rickheim is stage manager. Zach Kanner plays Spike on Thursdays and Fridays. The weekends belong to Nadalini.

Easily one of my favorite plays of the past ten years, Vanya And Sonya And Masha And Spike entertained me every bit as much at Pacific Resident Theatre as it has in the five previous productions I’ve seen, albeit in fresh new ways. If you’re anything like me, expect to be captivated.

Pacific Resident Theatre, 703 Venice Blvd, Venice.
www.PacificResidentTheatre.com

–Steven Stanley
May 21, 2023
Photos: Samara Malik

 

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