Uptown Players to Open Season with VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, 2/14-3/9

Uptown Players opens its 2014 season with the zany Broadway comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. Written by Christopher Durang and directed by B. J. Cleveland, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike runs at the Kalita Humphreys Theater from February 14 to March 9, 2014.

Vanya (Bob Hess) and his sister Sonia (Wendy Welch) tolerate the mediocrity of their middle-aged lives in Bucks County, PA, until their movie-star sister Masha (Diana Sheehan) returns for a visit that shakes things up. With her boy-toy Spike (Evan Fentriss) in tow, Masha incites a madcap family reunion complete with all the comic genius that only Christopher Durang can deliver. This hilarious mashup of Anton Chekhov's plays, like The Three Sisters and Uncle Vanya, finds Chekov's classic themes of existential loss and longing giving way to hilarity in Christopher Durang's surprising, tender and uproarious family reunion.

This brilliant, often absurd comedy, won every Best Play Award of the 2012-2013 season, including the Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, New York Critics and Outer Critics Circle Awards. But as in much of Christopher Durang's best work, it's the heartbreak that is as memorable as the hilarity. In the end, Durang leaves us with a message about the importance of family and a reminder that even for the heartsick, laughter is truly the best medicine.

The cast features Evan Fentriss, Julia Golder, Bob Hess, Nadine Marissa, Diana Sheehan, and Wendy Welch. The production runs February 14 through March 9, 2014, with shows at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. on Sundays (no performances Feb 16 or 20). Performances take place at the Kalita Humphreys Theatre, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd (at Blackburn), Dallas, TX 75219. Tickets are $30-$45 and can be purchased online at www.uptownplayers.org or by phone at (214) 219-2718.