The Footlight Club’s production of the Tony Award winning play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike opens April 29.
“We could all use a little humor about now and Christopher Durang is just the playwright to give it to us,” said director Michael Colford. “You wouldn’t think transferring the well-known themes of Chekov’s plays; regret, envy, unrequited love, narcissism, lack of romance and the possible loss of an ancestral family home would be fodder to comedy but, in the hands of Christopher Durang, an American playwright with nearly twenty plays under his belt, the absurd becomes hilarious.”
Colford said he’s excited about the terrifically funny cast who lean into absurdity to really make the show crackle with energy.
“As the U.S. population ages, more and more of us are going through our 50’s and wondering if our lives have just passed us by,” said Colford. “What did we do that amounted to anything? What would be fulfilling and make life worth living? Is it making millions of dollars as a movie star in schlocky slasher films? Or is it secretly writing a play that you keep from everyone around you? Perhaps it’s sharing the love and kindness toward your family, especially when they need it the most.”
The play is directed by Michael Colford, and produced by Rebecca Glucklich. The cast includes Vito Abate as Vanya, Heather Konar as Sonia, Jennifer Bean as Masha, Mordecai Choi as Spike, Rita La Serra as Cassandra, Alyssa Frey as Nina, and Shana Jackson as understudy for Sonia.
This play marks the third production after Eliot Hall reopened its doors post-pandemic closure and after the completion of a much needed renovation to make the building fully accessible for the first time in its 145 year history.
Performances will be April 29 through May 14, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm, and Sundays at 2 pm. Click here for tickets.
