Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, by Christopher Durang

The Community Players of Concord, NH will proudly present the smash comedy, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at the Concord City Auditorium (“the Audi”), 2 Prince St., Concord, NH, on Friday and Saturday, February 16 and 17 at 7:30 pm, and on Sunday, February 18 at 2:00 pm. This new and highly lauded play by Christoper Durang continues in the Players’ theme for this, it’s 90th Anniversary Season – “90 Years New!” With this theme, the Players are devoting an entire season to presenting highly acclaimed shows that will be “new” to many Concord area audiences.

Director Jim Webber has called Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike ‘Winter Laugh Therapy’ and even went so far as to put that caption on the advertising for the show. “I’ve directed five February shows in Concord over the years,” says Webber, “and have found that people love getting out of the house about this time of year to go and see a comedy live on stage. The show goes up during Valentine’s week, and people are usually very eager to go out to dinner and take in a show – maybe thinking of it as an ‘unofficial end’ to the winter, or a hopeful celebration of the spring weather ahead. Vanya and Sonia takes place in August in rural Pennsylvania, so, in addition to its being a hilarious, Tony winning Best Play by Christopher Durang, this play is an opportunity to spend a few hours of fun in a summertime setting. It’s a perfect play to get away from it all and just laugh.”

Despite the names in the title, rest assured there is no Russian collusion here! Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is an uproarious story about three siblings in their fifties, set over the course of a weekend filled with rivalry, regret and surprises. Vanya and Sonia, brother and adopted sister, took care of their elderly and recently passed parents (who named their children after Chekhov characters) and still live quietly in their childhood home in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Their sister, Masha, a movie star famous for a five-film series titled “Sexy Killer,” joins them for a visit with her current boy-toy boyfriend, a wanna-be actor named “Spike” (who claims he almost got cast in HBO’s “Entourage 2”.) Between a costume party with adults dressed as Disney characters and a backyard play-reading that goes horribly wrong, sister Masha drops the bombshell: she has decided to sell the house out from under Vanya and Sonia. Throw in a psychic maid with a penchant for voodoo and a lovely young star-struck neighbor and the three siblings are soon forced to confront some heartbreaking, all-too-true (and very funny) realities about growing older.

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is easily one of the funniest and most popular new plays of recent years, winning the 2013 Tony Award for “Best Play,” and the New York Critics’ Drama Circle Award. Jim Webber directs a cast of six top local performers: Stephen Lajoie (Vanya), Kim Lajoie (Sonia), Sharon Sweet (Masha), David MacNeill (Spike), Cady Hickman (Nina), and Barbara Webb (as Cassandra). The production features costumes by Joan Vick and lighting by Jack Duncan. Rebecca Parker-Bryson is the stage manager for the production, which is co-produced by Allwynne Fine and Barbara Woodman.

Tickets cost $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and juniors, and are available online at www.communityplayersofconcord.org. Online ticket purchases before February 14 enjoy a $2 per ticket discount. Audi Box Office hours are Wednesday through Saturday, February 14-17 from 4:30-7:30 pm, and Sunday, February 18 from noon-2:00 pm. For further ticket information, contact David Murdo at (603) 344-4747, or nhdm40@comcast.net. Please note that this play is considered "PG-13" due to language.