An absurdly comedic show filled with heart heads to Allen Contemporary Theatre in “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”
The show, directed by Chris Berthelot, runs from October 4-20.
Between Snow White costumes, voodoo dolls and movie stars, Allen Contemporary Theatre takes an increasingly absurd sibling rivalry to the stage in its latest production, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”
Written by Christopher Durang, the show takes place in a family home currently occupied by two middle-aged siblings, Vanya and Sonia. They’ve spent years looking after their now-deceased parents and currently spend their days debating their lot in life while their movie star sister, Masha, pays the bills. When Masha returns home, with her much-younger new boyfriend, Spike, in tow, tensions quickly escalate between the trio, and a threat to sell the home looms in the air.
“It’s a very lively, very funny, heartfelt type of play,” Allen Contemporary Theatre Director Chris Berthelot says. “Durang’s style was to capture absurdism but grounded in humanity. All the characters are deeply human, but they just do absolutely absurd things.”
As a fan of Durang’s since he first performed one of the playwright’s scenes in college, Berthelot “jumped at the opportunity” to direct the Allen Contemporary Theatre production. Although the show is known for referencing the works of famed playwright Anton Chekhov, the director is quick to note the contemporary “light and fresh” energy Durang’s show brings.
He emphasizes the importance of the “fine balance of everything” in Durang’s work, from the heartfelt to the hilarious and everything in between. “The biggest thing I told the actors was to go as far as they could go, and I’ll bring them back if they hit a point where I thought it was too much,” Berthelot says, adding that the siblings almost argue like children throughout the play.
Even when bickering like children in their roles, the cast has “really bonded together as a family” both onstage and off, according to Berthelot. The director assembled what he calls “a dream cast” of actors from across DFW to bring “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” to life at Allen Contemporary Theatre.
The six-member cast includes Robert San Juan as Vanya, Molly Bower as Sonia, Kelly Moore Clarkson as Masha, Benjamin McElroy as Spike, Maxine Frauenheim as the soothsaying cleaning lady, Cassandra, and Caitlyn Cole as an aspiring young actress named Nina. “The show requires chops from everybody,” Berthelot says, noting moments like the more than four-page monologue San Juan delivers as Vanya.
Berthelot hopes the efforts of the talented team working on the production delivers audiences “an unexpectedly upbeat, enjoyable show” that leaves them with “something that they haven’t seen before.” “I hope, really, that they’re entertained,” Berthelot says.
The Allen Contemporary Theatre production of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” runs from October 4-20. For more information, including how to purchase tickets, visit https://allencontemporarytheatre.net/.
