The recent Tony Award-winning new play from playwright Christopher Dunning, VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE, opens tonight in Los Angeles under the direction of David Hyde Pierce. Pierce stared in the show on Broadway. Shalita Grant and Kristine Nielsen Will Reprise Their Tony-Nominated Performances and will be joined by Mark Blum, Christine Ebersole, David Hull and Liesel Allen Yeager.
The hysterically funny farce will be presented by Center Theatre Group at the Mark Taper Forum and will run through March 9th.
As a performer, David Hyde Pierce won the 2007 Tony Award (Best Actor in a Musical) for his performance in “Curtains,” a performance he premiered at the CTG / Ahmanson Theatre. Also with CTG, Pierce performed in Terrence McNally’s “It’s Only a Play” presented at the Doolittle Theatre in 1992. David received a Tony nomination for his performance in “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” and a special Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award in 2010 for his work with the Alzheimer’s Association.
Set in 21st century Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with hints of 19th century Russia, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” is a riotous comedy with the Chekhovian set-up of a middle-aged Vanya and his stepsister, Sonia, who live together in their ancestral farmhouse, complete with a pond and a cherry orchard. Their normally quiet existence is thrown into upheaval by the surprise visit from their glamorous, movie-star sibling, Masha, and her 20-something boyfriend, Spike, the unlikely prophecies of their cleaning lady and an all too important costume party.
The cast features (in alphabetical order) Mark Blum (Obie Award-winner for “Gus and Al”), Christine Ebersole (Tony Award for “Grey Gardens” and “42nd Street”), Shalita Grant (Tony nomination for “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”), David Hull (“Wicked” and “The Book of Mormon”), Kristine Nielsen (Tony nomination for “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike”) and Liesel Allen Yeager (reprising the role she played on Broadway).
Tickets for “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” can be purchased by calling (213) 972-4444 or visiting online at www.CenterTheatreGroup.org. Tickets range from $20 – $70 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Mark Taper Forum is located at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012
