The Trustus Theatre Opens 30th Season With 'VANYA AND SONIA' Tonight

Trustus Theatre begins their 30th Anniversary Season with Christopher Durang's laugh-out-loud comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. This show was one of the most successful comedies on Broadway last season, and now this Tony award-winning script finds a home on the Thigpen Main Stage this fall. Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike opens tonight September 12th at 8:00pm, and runs through September 27, 2014.

Trustus Theatre begins its 30th Anniversary celebration as it opens Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike on the Trustus Main Stage on Friday, September 12th at 8:00pm and it runs through September 27th, 2014. Thigpen Main Stage shows start at 7:30pm on Thursdays, 8:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays, and Sunday matinees are at 3:00pm. Tickets are $22.00 for adults, $20.00 for military and seniors, and $15.00 for students. Half-price Student Rush-Tickets are available 15 minutes prior to curtain.

Durang's new show is a comedy of ill manners with a touch of naughty. It draws from the plots and themes of theatre revolutionary Anton Chekov. However, in lieu of Chekov's ill-fated characters steeped in Slavic despair - Durang provides audiences with what the New York Times called a "sunny new play about gloomy people [...] a loving rejection of pretty much everything Chekhov stands for in the popular imagination." The story introduces audiences to Vanya and Sonia, who have never left the confines of their childhood home in Bucks County, PA. All the while, their sister Masha has been gallivanting around the world as a movie star. A surprise visit from Masha and her 20-something boy toy, Spike, throws the normally quiet household into utter upheaval as its residents and visitors get swept up in an intoxicating mixture of lust, rivalry, regret, and the sudden possibility of escape.

Award-winning director Jim O'Connor returns to the Main Stage after directing last season's Venus in Fur and Clybourne Park. "I was attracted to this piece because it not only has the wit for which Durang is justifiably famous, but it also has a big heart," said O'Connor. "This show is a terrific choice for the opening of Trustus' 30th season because it is a celebration of life. It is full of joy and sparkles with the appreciation of being alive. It celebrates the magic of theatre and the basic goodness that it can bring to the audience. These characters, like Trustus itself, are based in the past but are moving full throttle into the future."

O'Connor has assembled a cast of familiar Trustus Company members, and some new faces on the Thigpen Main Stage. Trustus Company members Dewey Scott-Wiley (Good People) and Vicky Saye Henderson (Constance, See Rock City and Other Destinations) will be playing Sonia and Masha respectively. Returning to Trustus after being last seen in Rabbit Hole is Glenn Rawls as Vanya. Jimmy Wall will be making his Trustus debut as Spike. Trustus Company member Ellen Rodillo-Fowler will be joining this hilarious foursome as Cassandra, Vanya and Sonia's housekeeper who's constantly spitting prophecies of doom. Rounding out the cast is Stephanie Walden as Nina, the young gal across the way who idolizes Masha while also creating tension between the movie star and her boy-toy Spike.

Trustus Theatre is located at 520 Lady Street, behind the Gervais St. Publix. Parking is available on Lady St. and on Pulaski St. The Main Stage entrance is located on the Publix side of the building.

For more information or reservations call the box office Tuesdays through Saturdays 1-6 pm at 803-254-9732. Visit www.trustus.org for all show information and season information.

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