Review: VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE at Masquers Playhouse

VANYA and SONIA and MASHA and SPIKE is a delightful romp with equal measures of nostalgia and hope for the future. With rapid-fire dialogue and pitch-perfect timing, the cast bring the script by Christopher Durang to life. The show is not just laughs but carries the weight and life lessons of characters who are struggling with what comes next in their lives. Thoughtful and precise, the show leads with its heart.

The story of VANYA, SONIA, MASHA, and SPIKE follows three siblings during a weekend visit. Vanya and Sonia continue to live in their family home where they cared for their aging parents through their fifteen year struggle with Alzheimer’s. They continue to live at home from simple inertia and lack of ideas of what to do next. Their sister Masha comes for a visit, bringing her latest boy toy, Spike. Masha has had a successful career as an actress, and five less successful marriages. The housekeeper, Cassandra who, like her namesake, gives prescient warnings throughout the weekend. While swimming in the nearby pond, Spike meets a neighbor, Nina, and invites her to join them all at a costume party that night. Masha is threatened by Nina’s presence. Sonia doesn’t like the frumpy costume Masha chose for her. Vanya is nervous about letting someone read the secret play he is working on. And Cassandra gives warnings about every possible thing that could go wrong. 

The cast feels like a very tight-knit group. They play off each other with comfortable familiarity. Alicia von Kugelgen makes her presence known every time she walks on stage. Her full body transformation when having premonitions is so fun to watch. Ryan Chu has the confidence and flair that Spike requires. Chu indulges Spike’s self-absorbed nature, but softens the edges in a way that makes him more a product of modernity. Sophia Gabel-Scheinbaum as Nina lights up the room with a youthful naivety. Her ethereal look during Vanya’s play-reading reminds me a bit  of John Everett Millais’s painting, Ophelia. Cheryl Games as Masha is giving me major Jean Smart vibes. She’s been around the block and knows a thing or two about playing the game. As tough as she is, Games makes sure that we see the cracks and know there’s a softer side to Masha. Damion Clark as Vanya is absolutely lovable. His dead pan is so perfectly delivered. It’s almost as if his face has subtitles. But that’s not to say he isn’t equally powerful when speaking. He paces his monologue in a way to build momentum while allowing space for the laughs to hit. The yin to his yang is Lisa Wang as Sonia. Their partnership is the foundation of everything. But Wang does not limit Sonia to be a side act of Vanya. She breathes life into Sonia that reveals her complex inner thoughts, turmoil, and tiny sprigs of hope. Through Wang’s careful crafting of character, every line and movement paints a picture and adds a layer to Sonia.

Shay Oglesby-Smith’s directorial debut hits every mark. She tells the story, and tells it well. Everything is working in concert with each other, and the pacing is great. The set design by Suzanne Daniel is so rich in detail. The family pictures going up the stairwell, although way upstage, lend such a credibility to the sense of a long-time family home. Tammara Plankers-Norleen’s costume design leans into the tropes while still adding fresh ideas. Michael O’Brian’s sound and light design add another layer to the show, and I especially enjoyed feeling the subtle presence of a car arriving and leaving. At moments this show requires a lot cues to keep the action going between on stage and off stage. I would be remiss, if I didn’t mention the good work of stage manager, Miranda Bumstead, who kept everything running in perfect timing.

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