Riverside Theatre to Present VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, 2/16-28

Riverside Theatre, led by Producing Artistic Director/CEO Allen D. Cornell and Managing Director/COO Jon R. Moses, present Christopher Durang's Tony Award-winning comedy play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike playing the Waxlax Stage from February 16 - 28, 2016. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is sponsored by Ray and Sonia McGowan and Riverside Theatre's 2015-2016 Patron Producers Group.

This uproarious comedy about a dysfunctional family won the 2013 Tony, Drama Desk and New York Drama Critic's Circle Awards for Best Play. The story revolves around three middle-aged siblings facing their gloomy present and future prospects in life. Christopher Durang borrowed from Anton Chekhov in the creation of this play with the siblings named after characters in Chekhov's plays. The storyline also reflects Chekhov's themes - potential loss of the family home, a rural setting, family conflict, and cherry trees.

Masha is an aging Hollywood star who supports Vanya and Sonia, neither of whom has a job since they took care of their aging parents. Masha owns the family home in Bucks County, PA and pays all the bills. Masha returns home for a visit accompanied by her dim-witted, young boy toy, Spike. While Sonia and Masha constantly argue, their brother, Vanya, tries to keep the peace. Meanwhile, aspiring actor Spike is constantly parading around the house half dressed, a distraction to all involved. With contention at its height, Masha threatens to sell the house and leave her brother and sister destitute. By the end of the play, Spike has been sent packing, Sonia has met an interesting man, and Masha has reconciled with her family.

Playwright Christopher Durang received a BA degree in English from Harvard, and an MFA degree from the Yale School of Drama where Signorey Weaver was a classmate. The two have remained friends since she starred in one of his first plays at Yale. She played Masha in the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Durang has received three Obie Awards, and was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2012.

A huge success with critics and audiences alike, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike originated at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey in association with Lincoln Center Theatre in September 2012. The show transferred to Lincoln Center's Off-Broadway theatre, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, in November 2012 and sold out in its four month run. It opened on Broadway in March 2013 and proved so successful its limited engagement was extended twice.

Riverside Theatre's production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is directed by James Brennan and stars Warren Kelley as Vanya, Susan Cella as Sonia, Stacey Logan as Masha, Brain Ogilvie as Spike, Kathel Carlson as Cassandra and Morgan MacInnes as Nina.

The production crew includes Richard Crowell (Scenic and Lighting Design), Kurt Alger (Costume Design), Andrew Stroud (Sound Design) and Rebekah Church (Production Stage Manager). Casting was done in New York City by Wojcik / Seay Casting.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike performs February 16 - 28, 2016 on the Waxlax Stage at Riverside Theatre. Tickets are $45. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Box Office at 772-231-6990 or online at www.riversidetheatre.com.

Performances are Tuesdays through Saturdays at 8pm; with matinees on Wednesdays, select Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm.