BWW Reviews: Chekov Becomes Hilarious in ACT's VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE

Sometimes a fun night is just a dead lock. Such is the case when you take three of Seattle's most gifted and seasoned actors and put them in the off kilter world of a Christopher Durang play as has happed over at ACT with their current production of "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike". I have to admit going in I had very little doubt that I would have a good time with all those elements combined and I was not disappointed. But beyond the sure thing of comedy that resulted what also emerged was a truly thoughtful and resonant look at some ways society has been brought down as it's built up.

The craziness which draws elements, archetypes and names from the plays of Anton Chekov centers on three siblings Vanya, Sonia and Masha. Vanya and Sonia (R. Hamilton Wright and Marianne Owen) lead a very sedentary life together in the big house by the lake they grew up in. They don't work and don't have much in their lives except each other especially since their ailing parents have died and now they realize that they're middle aged and haven't really lived. Enter Masha (Pamela Reed), a successful self centered movie star who's been everywhere and seen everything. Masha has returned home with her new hunky boy-toy Spike (William Poole) under the guise of visiting and attending a local high profile costume party but she also has plans to sell the house she's been paying for all these years and turning the lives of her siblings upside down. Add in the psychic housekeeper Cassandra (Cynthia Jones) who has constant premonitions of doom and the eager young ingénue Nina (Sydney Andrews) who has stars in her eyes and you have a recipe for some classic Durang madness.

Director Kurt Beattie has taken this nutty group and kept them all within their own archetypes with very few ventures beyond. In the hands of lesser actors this could be disastrous but they manage to imbue some very rich and engaging personas within their assigned lots and even an emotional arc and growth for our protagonists without ever losing their core stereotypes. Wright takes on the curmudgeonly Vanya with a quiet and subtle zeal so even during his "get off my lawn" rant of kids today you can't help but love him. Reed once again proves that there's no part she can't make shine as her self-absorbed aging starlet is equal parts tragic and hysterical. Owen's take on Sonia's insecurities and general dismay at her life is a thing of beauty. Sure she's funnier than hell and manic beyond belief but she completely inhabits her character and every move, gesture or finger twitch only serves the character in such a deliberate way. Not one ounce of a wasted or superfluous performance exists. It says something to the engagement of a character when she makes a disappointing choice within the play and the entire audience elicits and audible "Aw". Yup, it happened. Poole manages the dimwitted bravado of Spike well and certainly has the body to warrant him constantly taking off his clothes but I think he could have gone even further with the part. Andrews lends herself well to the chipper Nina and Jones is beyond hilarious as she weaves in and out of her psychic episodes and stinging barbs.

All told it's just a wonderfully engaging look at a dysfunctional family looked at through the twisted lens of Durang. Like I said, it's a sure thing. And so with my three letter rating system I give it a solid YAY as you are sure to have a great time if you do yourself the favor of catching this one.

"Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" performs at ACT through November 16th. For tickets or information contact the ACT box office at 206-292-7676 or visit them online at www.acttheatre.org.

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