The Actors Fund is holding a Special "Producer's Picks" Fundraising Evening at tonight's, February 11th performance of
Christopher Durang's award-winning comedy, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, at the
Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. In addition to enjoying the show, guests will receive an autographed program and enjoy an exclusive post-performance dessert and wine reception with director,
David Hyde Pierce, and cast members.
The 2013 Tony Award-winner for Best Play in its Los Angeles premiere, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a riotous comedy set in 21st Century Bucks County, Pennsylvania with the Chekhovian set-up of a middle-aged Vanya and his stepsister, Sonia, who live together in their ancestral farmhouse, complete with a pond and a cherry orchard. Their normally quiet existence is thrown into upheaval by the surprise visit from their glamorous, movie-star sibling, Masha, and her 20-something boyfriend, Spike, the unlikely prophecies of their cleaning lady and an all too important costume party.
Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor,
David Hyde Pierce, starred in the Broadway cast of this hysterically funny and affecting play and was nominated for a Tony for his performance as Vanya.
He returns to Vanya this time as the Director of the play. The cast features (in alphabetical order): Mark Blum (Obie Award-winner for Gus and Al), Christine Ebersole (Tony Awards for Grey Gardens and 42nd Street), Shalita Grant (Tony nomination for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike), David Hull (Wicked and The Book of Mormon), Kristine Nielsen (Tony nomination for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) and Liesel Allen Yeager (reprising the role she played on Broadway). Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike features sets by Original Broadway Scenic Designer, David Korins, costumes by Gabriel Berry, lighting by David Weiner, and original music and sound design by Mark Bennett. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike runs through March 9, 2014 at the Mark Taper Forum.
The Actors Fund would like to thank The
Center Theatre Group, The
Mark Taper Forum,
David Hyde Pierce, cast members of Vanya and Actors Fund Western Council Member
Marilyn Szatmary for making this fundraising evening possible.
Tickets are $150 each, and all proceeds from the evening will benefit The Actors Fund. The Actors Fund is a national human services organization that helps everyone - performers and those behind the scenes - who works in performing arts and entertainment, serving more than 13,500 people annually. Programs include social services and emergency financial assistance, health care and insurance counseling, housing, employment and training services and a youth program.
