Playwright spins glum story of sad sacks into comedy gold

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It is not long into Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike that an exasperated Vanya says to his sad-sack sister Sonia, “I hope you’re not going to make Chekhov references all day.”

That question should rightfully be put to playwright, Christopher Durang, who does just that in his hilarious Tony Award-winning farce, which opened at Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre Thursday night.

The American master of black humour has borrowed some of Chekhov’s lost souls and turned them into modern-day 50-year-olds with the same glum outlook as their namesakes. He turns what sounds like a dreary bitch session into an uplifting laughfest.

Winnipeg theatre-goers are especially Chekhov-ready, as the 19th-century Russian dramatist was the subject of the 2014 Master Playwright Festival. It helps to know going in to Vanya and Sonia that he isn’t a gloomy gus; Chekhov intermingled feelings of profound despair, ennui and dissatisfaction into comic scenes. At his best, his plays are sad and funny at the same time. This balance is what Durang achieves as he probes middle-aged despair over dashed dreams and squandered hopes.

Vanya (Steven Sutcliffe) and Sonia (Fiona Reid) are shut-ins who have lived their whole lives in the same country house that looks out over a pond and a cluster of cherry trees in backwater Pennsylvania. The decor of Sue LePage’s handsome set is as dated as is its inhabitants, who are also stuck in the past. Having spent their adult years caring for their now-deceased parents, they despair that they never went anywhere or really did anything. Their soul-sapping routine is to get up, bicker about the coffee, look for the blue heron on the pond and generally spin their wheels.

It would be another in a succession of tedious days followed by tedious nights if not for the arrival of their famous sister Masha (Jennifer Dale), aging star of a series of sexy serial-killer movies that earned her millions. Narcissistic and demanding, Masha is unable to withstand the spotlight leaving her for even a second. Durang’s sibling triangle is complete: one is vain and the other two have lived lives in vain.

Durang deliciously spices Chekhov’s borscht with Spike (Luke Humphrey), Masha’s latest hunky himbo, who likes to wear as little as possible; Nina (Ellen Denny), a pretty neighbour right out of The Seagull; and the voodoo-practising housecleaner Cassandra (Audrey Dwyer), who keeps making wild predictions that no one gets until they come true.

The central event of the plot-poor Vanya and Sonia is a neighbour’s costume party, for which Masha has organized the costumes. She will be Snow White and her siblings and Nina will be outfitted as dwarves. Sonia uncharacteristically balks and goes dressed as the Evil Queen, as played by Maggie Smith on her way to the Oscars.

The co-production with Toronto’s Mirvish Productions is a star-magnet, as Durang permits every cast member an opportunity to impress. Reid’s Sonia is grimly humorous about her past but comes alive when she slips on a tiara, sequined gown and a spot-on Smith impersonation that will have Downton Abbey fans howling with delight.

Even that lovely Cinderella moment will rank behind the sweet second-act phone call Sonia has with a suitor. Reid’s face subtly telegraphs all the spinster’s trepidation, yearning and hope, earning her immediate applause.

Sutcliffe, who is made to resemble Chekhov, is wonderfully understated, whether as house peacemaker or as a gay man confused with how to deal with the over-the-top exhibitionist Spike. His lengthy but soaring aria about all he has lost in the digital age also won Sutcliffe spontaneous response, likely from the older demographic in the audience.

As Masha, Dale eats up the stage with bravado and conceit. She is part of a childish game of who-is-the queen-of-woe with Sonia that will resonate with brothers and sisters.

Although her character seems to have walked in from another play, Dwyer’s Cassandra commands attention whenever she appears onstage. With her brightly coloured clothing and no-nonsense demeanour, Cassandra stands out brilliantly against the grey, hopeless lives of her employers.

It is also difficult to take your eyes off Humphrey, given that uninhibited Spike gladly spends most of the play in his underwear, showing off his six-pack abs. Denny rounds out the cast, sweetly reflecting Nina’s old soul.

Director Dean Paul Gibson finds the right balance of big laughs among the emotional insecurities that are the basis of this coming-of-age-at-middle-age story. Vanya and Sonia and the rest fear change and the future. That makes them not so different from everybody else. What Durang has unexpectantly accomplished is making these pitiful characters kind of lovable.

kevin.prokosh@freepress.mb.ca