Theater: Chekhov List
By John Levesque September 9, 2014
If Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike sounds like at least 75 percent of an Anton Chekhov play, congratulations. You were paying attention in Theater 101.
V&S&M&S playwright Christopher Durang is a Chekhov-phile. I take Chekhov scenes and characters and put them into a blender, Durang told Playbill last year. Its my hope you dont have to know Chekhov super-well to enjoy it.
ACT Theatre calls Durangs 2013 Tony Award winner for Best Play a comedic riff on age, entitlement, social networking and the accessibility of celebrity. It opens in the Falls Theatre at ACT on October 17, showcasing middle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia, who live a life of self-indulgent ease on handouts from Masha, their movie-star sister. Masha puts the fun in dysfunction when she returns home with her trophy boyfriend, Spike, and furthers Durangs absurdist plot with nods to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, voodooism, global warming and the Beatles.
10/1711/16. Times and prices vary. Act Theatre, 700 Union St., Seattle; 206.292.7676; acttheatre.org.