"Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" at Geva Theatre

Opening night toast with cast and crew

Charlie and I attended Geva Theatre's opening night of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, by playwright Christopher Durang, and were thoroughly entertained. In a pre-performance chat, Artistic Director Mark Cuddy let us in on some extra drama over the past week. Although you wouldn't guess it from his performance, John Scherer, the actor playing Vanya, had had an emergency appendectomy here in Rochester less than a week ago. Luckily, this has been the most performed play in regional theaters this year, with 27 productions, so Geva kicked into high gear and, through social media, found an actor who had just completed a run on Arena Stage! He quickly learned the new blocking, and was still on hand opening night just in case the recovered Scherer wasn't up to the task (which he was).

No, that's not Charlie!

You don't need to know, remember, or have seen any Checkhov to appreciate Durang's parody, because he drops constant not-so-subtle hints at the four plays he references: Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull, and of course, Uncle Vanya. And you can picture Sigourney Weaver in the role of Masha (wonderfully portrayed here by Margaret Reed), a part Durang wrote for her (perhaps to make up for the part she played in his dreadful Sex and Longing?). Everyone in the cast was great, and because this was a co-production with the Cleveland Playhouse (which got the production first), they were extremely confident in their roles.

The sets are beautiful and finely detailed – we've come to expect nothing less from Geva. I thought the final Durang harangue, I mean monologue, went on a bit too long, but other than that, the show was funny, fast-paced, and unlike attending a Checkhov play, I didn't leave regretting those 2½ hours I couldn't get back... The high point, for me, was the hysterical Danielle Lea Greaves, as Cassandra. I am looking forward to seeing the show again at the end of the month with my friend Jan.