Review: VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE Aren't Enough of a Party

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, directed by Katie Laris at the SBCC Theatre Group, brings concepts from the Chekhovian canon into a contemporary universe. Middle-aged siblings Sonia (Leslie Ann Story) and Vanya (Jay Carlander) live quiet lives in their family home, until a visit from their overdramatic celebrity sister, Masha (Ann Guynn), destroys their routine of languidly deciding whether or not the handful of cherry trees in the backyard constitutes an orchard.

Christopher Durang's play uses flagship aspects of Chekhov's work--namely, ennui and a narrative crossroad created by the characters' diminishing wealth and position. Masha, who is struggling to come to terms with her stalled career, decides to sell their home, despite protests from Sonia and Vanya. She's accompanied by her new boyfriend, the much-younger Spike (Drew Leighty). Spike periodically disrobes to display a toned physique, much to Vanya's distraction.

While Chekhov's plays do have lovely moments of humor, they are written against a sense of staid powerlessness that gives them complex meaning. Durang's contemporary comedy, presents a less subtle style of humor. Ann Guynn, as the preening Masha, plays well against Leslie Ann Story's beleaguered Sonia, especially when roles are reversed and Sonia becomes the belle of the costume ball while Masha is devastated that no one recognizes her as Snow White. And Jay Carlander's Vanya was most amusing when his sputtering agitation was at its height.

However, dramatic material (even in a comedy) needs dramatic execution to be exciting. In Chekhov's universe, dramatic tension came from characters who were stoic despite high stakes. In Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, tension can be produced by presenting over-the-top reactions to low stakes. The SBCC Theatre Group's production offered a limited range of emotion, which neutered the high stakes, undercut the humor of the low stakes, and prevented character-based jokes from reaching their full potential. These situations, such as Masha's tantrum after the costume party, depend on the audience's full awareness of the character flaws that make the situation potent. We must be aware that Masha is capable of having a meltdown before there can be any real consequence in whether or not Sonia has the more popular costume at the party.

This comparison to Chekhov's work wouldn't generally be appropriate; yet the piece invites the association by forcing Chekhov lore into every possible cranny of the play. The worst offender being ingénue Nina's (Alizah A. Walton) line: "Can I call you Uncle Vanya?" Poor Walton is a talented performer saddled with the worst joke in the play, albeit one that sums up the production. There's a world of difference between "Can I call you Uncle, Vanya?" And "Can I call you Uncle Vanya?" Asking Vanya if she can call him Uncle is a profession of affection, an expression of a true emotion elicited from a full-fledged character. "Can I call you Uncle Vanya?" is an out-of-character, out-of-scene joke that does little more than force the concept of Chekhov down the audience's throat.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a production with enjoyable moments and talented performers that features excellent costume and set work by Pamela Shaw and Patricia L. Frank, respectively. Unfortunately, the production simply has too limited a range of emotion to be memorable.

VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE

by Christopher Durang

Directed by Katie Laris

July 15-30, 2016
Garvin Theatre

http://www.theatergroupsbcc.com/santa-barbara-theaters-now-playing

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