BWW Interviews: Mark Nelson in VANYA AND SONYA AND MASHA AND SPIKE at Paper Mill Playhouse

Paper Mill Playhouse will present Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike from January 21st through February 15th. This play is written by the master of comedy, Christopher Durang. Durang mixes four distinctive characters and dishes up a hilarious stew with three siblings and one hot mess. This touching and wickedly funny play was the winner for the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play. The Paper Mill production is directed by Don Stephenson and stars Mark Nelson as Vanya. Broadwayworld.com had the opportunity to interview Nelson about the show and his impressive career.

Mark Nelson grew up in Westwood, New Jersey and has since pursued a career as an actor and a theater professor at Princeton University. Nelson was seen in the Broadway productions of After the Fall, A Few Good Men, The Invention of Love, Biloxi Blues and others. Nelson also appeared in productions of My Name Is Asher Lev, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Timon of Athens at The Public Theater, Three Sisters at Roundabout, The Winter's Tale at BAM and more. Some of his regional credits include Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Uncle Vanya, The Merchant of Venice, Underneath the Lintel, Talley's Folly, Falsettos and I Am My Own Wife. Nelson's television credits include The Good Wife, Unforgettable, Ed and Law & Order.

We asked Nelson about his early interest in theater. "Growing up in Westwood, so close to the bridge, sealed my fate: my parents started bringing me to Broadway shows when I was seven, and by the time they realized they had an actor in the house it was too late. I think my first was The King and I with Risë Stevens at Lincoln Center, followed by Show Boat with Barbara Cook. In high school I saw every Shakespeare play Joseph Papp produced in Central Park: James Earl Jones as Lear, Sam Waterston as Hamlet. Those performances were like heavy drugs for me, with no chance of rehab. As a student at Princeton I met the director Joseph Chaikin, who gave me a part in his production of The Dybbuk at the Public Theater. And before I knew it, I was a waiter."

There have been many performers and performances that have inspired Nelson's career. He said, "I got to share the stage with Linda Lavin in Neil Simon's Broadway Bound, which was a nightly master class. The most skillful comic technique I've ever seen, but also the most honest. I got to tour the world with Sam Mendes' classical rep company The Bridge Project and watch Simon Russell Beale play a raging Leontes at the matinee and then a tongue-tied, lovelorn Lopakhin in the evening. I never knew which was closer to Simon because he played them both with such total belief. Looking back over the list of great actors I've known-- some famous but most not- I can't believe how lucky I am."

We asked Nelson about some of his personal mentors. "Daniel Seltzer, who started the theater program at Princeton, was a rare combination: a world-class literary scholar and a terrific actor. His Shakespeare lectures packed the hall, and he'd punctuate the lectures by performing scenes from the plays. He encouraged me to take big chances. Shortly before he died, Dan quit Princeton and earned a Tony nomination for his role on Broadway in Knock Knock. People think that intellect and acting don't go together, but I've seen how they feed each other, because of knowing Dan."

He also commented, "And then my great teacher Uta Hagen. There's no doubt in my mind that she's the reason I'm still acting 35 years later. She was a zealot, in the best sense of the word- her pursuit of the craft was relentless, and she was my fiercest critic and champion. Her gutsy laughter was the best review you could ever hope for. My students are required to read her book Respect for Acting, and I try to channel her when I teach (even though my voice will never be as deep as hers.)"

Nelson told us how his career as a professor at Princeton University complements his performance career. "Teaching has forced me to think deeply about what I do, and to articulate it, which I hope has made me a better actor. And if you're jaded about the art of acting, come to my class and see how much it means to these kids. When I'm tempted to phone it in, I pretend that one of my students is in the audience hanging on every breath, and I try to give as much to the work as they do."

As Nelson has performed the role of Vanya before, we asked him to tell us a little bit about his passion for the show and its characters. " It's a deliciously silly play, and an unexpectedly rich one too, I've found. Sonya and Vanya are stuck in neutral, they think it's too late for them to have a life, and then life sweeps into the house and reclaims them, whether they want it or not. I did the play at Hartford Stage last spring, and didn't want it to end. Besides, once you've memorized a 5-page speech at my age, you want to keep showing people that you did it. I'm a Chekhov fanatic, and this play addresses all the big themes in Chekhov, the longings and sorrows and lost chances. But as Christopher Durang says, 'it throws Chekhov into a blender,' and what comes out is both outrageous and deeply sweet."

This is the first time that Nelson has worked with Paper Mill Playhouse. We wanted to know some of his impressions about the cast and creative team for Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike. "There's a lot of laughter in this room. I'm having a blast working with Don Stephenson, and playing brother to Michele Pawk and Carolyn McCormick, both of whom I've admired for so long. And three talented young actors who are new to me: Gina Daniels, Philippe Bowgen and Jamie Ann Romero. And we've got the Broadway scenery by David Korins and the wonderful music by my friend Mark Bennett."

We asked Nelson if there was anything else he wanted our Broadwayworld.com readers to know. "My Jersey history: Born in Westwood. My father was a dentist in Westwood for 50 years. My mom, a teacher, was born in Westwood and her father Dr. David Goldberg was a founder of the hospital, the childcare center, and the synagogue there. I graduated from Princeton, where I now teach. And I've worked five times at McCarter Theater, and four times at George Street Playhouse in New Brunswick."

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike will be performed at Paper Mill Playhouse eight times a week, Wednesday through Sunday. Performance schedule: Wednesday at 7:30pm, Thursday at 1:30pm and 7:30pm, Friday at 8:00pm, Saturday at 1:30pm and 8:00pm andSunday at 1:30pm and 7:00pm. Tickets are on sale now and range from $28 to $99. Tickets may be purchased by calling 973.376.4343, at the Paper Mill Playhouse Box Office at 22 Brookside Drive in Millburn, or online at www.PaperMill.org. Visa, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express accepted. Groups of 10 or more can receive up to a 40% discount on tickets and should call 973.315.1680. College students can order $20 rush tickets over the phone or in person at the Paper Mill Playhouse Box Office on the day of the performance.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Paper Mill Playhouse

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