Review: ACT’s ‘Vanya and Sonia…’ is a loveable look at sibling rivalry with a touch of Chekhov
From left, Kelly Moore Clarkson, Robert San Juan and Molly Bower in Allen Contemporary Theatre’s ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.’ (Photo by John Mead) Allen Contemporary Theatre opened the Christopher Durang play Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike last weekend.
Directed by Chris Berthelot, the part comedy-part drama centered on a brother and sister who live together in the house they grew up in and the uproar their famous sister brings upon her visit with her boytoy.
While family dramas can often reflect our own, Durang gives us a family we’d much rather observe than compare to. VSMS starts when Vanya’s quiet morning coffee is interrupted by his adopted sister, Sonia, who serves him coffee while expressing her feelings.
Their mundane life is disrupted when their celebrity sister, Masha, arrives with her young lover Spike. The sibs’ parents named them each after characters in Chekhov plays thus VSMS included some sly theater humor.
