The IU Theatre will bring laughter to the stage with the comedic play “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”
The play, written by Christopher Durang, is centered around a family living in Pennsylvania. Two of the three middle-aged siblings, Vanya and Sonia, have spent their adult lives taking care of their aging parents, who are deceased by the time the play is set.
Masha, the third sibling, is a successful movie star who pays for the house her siblings live in. She returns with her much younger lover, Spike, to attend a costume party to which a neighbor is the host. Childhood rivalries are dug back up and comical arguments ensue.
The play has a limited cast with only six actors and actresses. This has its challenges, said second year graduate student Tara Chiusano, who plays Sonia, but the positives of a smaller cast outweigh the challenges.
“Our characters go through a journey, and we change,” Chiusano said. “That’s something that’s really nice about being in a show like this is that we all get that opportunity, each one of us.”
The play, which gained popularity on Broadway and went on to win a Tony in 2013, incorporates comedy and drama into the uneventful lives of Vanya and Sonia.
Chiusano said the brand of comedy is reminiscent of the famous playwright Anton Chekhov’s various characters after whom the three siblings and other characters in the play are named. Common themes and situations from the works of Chekhov are found within the play.
“This show isn’t really serious with funny stuff in it,” IU senior Robert Toms said. “It’s funny with serious stuff in it.”
Toms, who plays the part of Spike, said the comedy aspect of the play was central to the tone.
“As long as you’re keeping that lightheartedness and just reminding the audience how light everything should be, then you can slip in more serious things,” he said.
Chiusan and Toms said the small cast has an air of comfort with each other that enhances the show’s overall effect on audiences.
“It’s brought us closer together, a lot,” said Chiusano. “I’ve been working with some of the folks for over a year now, and I think it’s really helped us to become better friends and work closer together. It’s been great.”
Chiusano said she thinks audiences will be able to identify with both the comedic and dramatic aspects of the play.
“I think it will play out with a mixture of comedy and drama,” Chiusano said. “I think people will be able to identify with the reality of it, but still be able to laugh at the ridiculousness of things.”
