Company of Fools to Present VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE This Summer

This July Company of Fools (COF) presents the hilarious winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, by the master of comedy, Christopher Durang. One of the most lauded Broadway plays of recent years, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike has been described by the New York Times as, "deliriously funny" and "comic acting raised to the level of high art."

Company of Fools' production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike marks the Company's first foray into the outrageously hysterical and often absurd world of playwright Durang. Guest director Gary C. Hopper returns after directing the Company's wildly successful God of Carnage in 2012. With this comedy, COF heralds its 20th Season with a play that opens up our senses-with laughter.

Vanya and his stepsister Sonia have lived their entire lives in their family's farmhouse. While they stayed home to take care of their ailing parents, their sister Masha has been gallivanting around the world as a successful actress and movie star, leaving Vanya and Sonia to feel trapped and regretful. Their soothsayer/cleaning woman, Cassandra, keeps warning them about terrible things in the future, which include a sudden visit from Masha and her twenty-something boytoy, Spike. A weekend of rivalry, regret and raucousness begins!

The standout cast features local Company members Jana Arnold (Cassandra), John Glenn (Vanya), Denise Simone (Masha) and Patsy Wygle (Sonia) as well as guest actors Max Ehrlich (a Richmond, VA, actor making his COF debut) and Maggie Horan (a New York City-based actor making her COF debut).

Rounding out the creative team for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike are Joe Lavigne (Set Design), Elizabeth Weiss Hopper (Guest Costume Design), Ann Price (Dialect Coach) and K.O. Ogilvie (Stage Manager).

THE PLAYWRIGHT: Christopher Durang

Christopher Durang received a BFA from Harvard and an MFA from Yale School of Drama. His first professional production was The Idiots Karamazov, co-authored with Albert Innaurato and performed at Yale Repertory Theatre. The show featured then Yale student Meryl Streep. Durang first came to public attention with the off-Broadway review Das Lusitania Songspiel, a collaboration with his friend, actress Sigourney Weaver, who also appeared in the original production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Durang's work as a playwright includes A History of American Film, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It all for You, Beyond Therapy, Baby with the Bathwater, The Marriage of Bette and Boo and Laughing Wild.

As an actor, Christopher Durang has appeared in the films The Secret of My Success, Mr. North, The Butcher's Wife, Housesitter and The Cowboy Way. Since 1994 he has been co-chair with Marsha Norman of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwright Program at the Julliard School.

SPONSORS

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is generously sponsored by Carol and Len Harlig and Wood River Insurance.

Company of Fools' 20th Season sponsors are Bob Disbrow & Kim Kawaguchi, Linda & Bill Potter, Walt Witcover Legacy Gift, Theresa Castellano Wood & Benjamin Wood and Barbara & Stanley Zax with support from High Country Fusion, Priscilla Pittiglio, Linda & Bob Edwards, Arrow 'R Storage, Richard & Judy Smooke and Scott Miley Roofing.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets are $35 for full price, $30 for seniors and Center members and $15 for students (18 and under). These ticket prices do not include the "Pay What You Feel" preview (July 1), 10 for $10, and Educator Night (July). There is also a SPECIAL GROUP RATE - groups of six or more receive $30 tickets!

Tickets may be purchased online at sunvalleycenter.org, by phone at 208.578.9122 or at the Liberty Theatre box office starting one hour prior to curtain. Company of Fools' box office is located at the Liberty Theatre, 110 N. Main Street in Hailey, with hours from 10 AM to 4 PM, Monday through Friday. All seats are reserved-except for our "Pay What You Feel" preview.

To post a comment, you must register and login.