Virginia Repertory Theatre's VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE Begins Tonight

Virginia Repertory Theatre announces the opening of Christopher Durang's award-winning Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at the Sara Belle and Neil November Theatre, 114 West Broad Street on Friday, April 24 with a preview tonight, April 23. The production runs through May 17, 2014. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, an Outer Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play.

Director, John Moon, talks about the show and what audiences can expect. "When an aging Hollywood star unexpectedly visits her two misfit siblings with her young boyfriend, life in the country turns upside down. A uniquely funny play about aging, sibling rivalry and Hollywood with a touch of Chekhov thrown in for fun teaches us that there really is no place like home. I am delighted to work with such a talented and comedic cast." Moon most recently directed The Music Man on the November Stage and Treasure Island and The Maggie Walker Story for Virginia Rep's Children's Theatre.

While the play references Chekhovian characters, the audience does not need to be a Chekhov expert to enjoy the timely, sharp-witted script. In various interviews, Durang has spoken about the influence of Chekhov. "In my 20s, I read Chekhov's plays and loved them. My impetus for Vanya... was the realization that I am now the age of Chekhov's older characters. And I found myself wanting to write a comic play - not a parody, but its own thing. Set in Bucks County (PA) in the present. So I took themes and characters from Chekhov, and put them into a comic blender."