G. Bruce Smith

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

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Amanda Karr as Sonia, Mark Piatelli (Photo by Miguel Eliot Photography)
Amanda Karr as Sonia, Mark Piatelli (Photo by Miguel Eliot Photography)

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike

Reviewed by G. Bruce Smith
Little Fish Theatre
Through September 3

RECOMMENDED

You don’t have to be familiar with Chekhov’s plays to enjoy the latest offering by Little Fish Theatre in San Pedro —Christopher Durang’s sometimes-zany, sometimes-absurdist, and often-funny Tony award-winning comedy, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. Still, your enjoyment will likely be enhanced if you are at least somewhat familiar with the Russian playwright’s work.

Durang cherry picks (pun intended) lines or themes from such Chekhov masterpieces as The Cherry Orchard, Uncle Vanya and The Seagull. His Vanya (Mark Piatelli) and Sonia (Amanda Karr) are siblings in their 50s who lead a life of ennui in contemporary Bucks County, Pa, after having cared for their ailing parents for 25 years. Vanya laments that it is “our cross to bear” that their parents, both professors, named their offspring after characters in Chekhov‘s plays.

Masha (Annie Vest), a successful and insecure middle-aged actor, comes to visit her siblings with hunky boy toy Spike (Nathaniel Weiss) in tow. She has financially supported her out-of-work siblings for years but now has designs to sell the house, much to the chagrin of Vanya and Sonia

Also in the mix are two other characters — housekeeper Cassandra (Susie McCarthy), a psychic who is constantly — and over-the-top dramatically — warning of dangers (often correctly), and Nina (Blair Elise), a young, idealistic wannabe actor enthralled by Masha but nonetheless seen by her as a threat to her romance with Spike.

The heart of the play is the conflict between the siblings, most particularly Sonia and Masha. Sonia has long resented being ignored by, and in the shadow of, her famous sister, while Masha would rather not be around her glum siblings.

There are plenty of funny lines in Vanya; and it’s also entertaining to observe where the action takes its characters (though a good 20 minutes could be cut from the script).

The actors are all excellent and have great fun breathing life into their characters. Piatelli captures the gentleness and peacemaking qualities of Vanya beautifully. We see him most passionate in a long and nostalgic monologue in which he laments the loss of “shared national TV shows” such as I Love Lucy and Ozzie and Harriet. But, as well done as the monologue is, it’s a bit puzzling because it feels as if it came out of nowhere.

Karr shines as Sonia, particularly when doing an impression of Maggie Smith. The play’s most touching moment is her part of a pivotal telephone call in which she captures a sweet vulnerability that we hadn’t seen before.

Although Masha is a stereotypically aging diva, Vest nevertheless portrays her with affection. And Weiss captures perfectly the equally clichéd pretty-but-dumb actor who almost got cast in Entourage 2.

Director Cylan Brown makes good use of a spacious set in his staging of the actors. As a set designer with an eye for detail, Minolae Jain creates a scenic composition that feels authentic as a typically middle-class home in Bucks County.

And that home is inhabited by a pair of siblings who lament they’ve never really lived but who, by the end, declare “There’s always hope.”

Little Fish Theatre, 777 S. Centre St., San Pedro. Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. Through Sept. 3. littlefishtheatre.org or call (310) 512-6030. Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.

 

 

2 Pianos 4 Hands

2 Pianos 4 Hands

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Jefferson McDonald and Matthew McGloin (Photo by Aaron Rumley)
Jefferson McDonald and Matthew McGloin (Photo by Aaron Rumley)

2 Pianos 4 Hands

Reviewed by G. Bruce Smith
Laguna Playhouse
Through July 23

RECOMMENDED
 
How can there be so much talent packed into two men attached to four hands? Actually, into four men attached to eight hands.
 
I’m talking about Jefferson McDonald and Matthew McGloin, the two gifted pianist/actors starring in the Laguna Playhouse production of the delightful 2 Pianos 4 Hands. They play real-life pianist/actor/writers Ted Dykstra and Richard Greenblatt, who make up the other four hands referenced above and who wrote 2 Pianos.
 
This charming and frequently funny piece spotlights the music and acting skills of McDonald and McGloin as they perform piano duos and solos interwoven with the story of the playwrights (and friends from a young age) on their paths from childhood to young adulthood. Along their path to adulthood, they face the grueling journey of becoming professional concert pianists. Director Tom Frey guides these two talents smoothly.

 

Aside from playing a repertoire that includes Mozart, Bach, Grieg — and yes, pop tunes like Bill Joel’s “The Piano Man” and Elton John’s “Benny & the Jets” — the duo play a range of characters, both male and female, brilliantly.

They fully inhabit Dykstra and Greenblatt at ages ranging from 7 to late teens — at first rebelling against the demands of practice, practice, practice to near obsession with succeeding. The cast of characters also includes parents, oft-eccentric teachers, even an aging Kiwanian introducing a piano duo competition featuring “67 pairs of children playing the exact same piece. For four hours.”

While generally light-hearted and filled with clever physical comedic bits — usually involving the two grand pianos on stage — the play also has moments of poignancy, particularly as Dykstra and Greenblatt in their late teens — no matter how talented —face their shortcomings as potential concert pianists. Their wakeup calls are painfully harsh.

Each of the pair of performers excels as versatile and highly skilled pianists — their repertoire is not always easy (though in fun they also play bars of “Heart and Soul.”) And each is a first-rate actor; watching McDonald’s contorted facial expressions when capturing the young Dykstra is a particular pleasure.

The set (scenic design by Marty Burnett) is simple and elegant — two grand pianos dominate the stage with a backdrop of columns and acoustic panels. The stage is often flooded in blue lighting, and regardless of the scene, the lighting design (Matthew Novotny) is almost “invisible” as it serves the story on stage. And the two projection “cutouts” in the rear (projections designer Ian Scott) are so well used, and so subtle, that you hardly realize the slides are giving context/location to the various scenes.

Laguna Playhouse, 606 Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Beach. Wed.-Fri., 7:30 p.m.; Sat., 2 & 7:30 p.m; Sun., 1 & 5:30 p.m. (no perf Sun., July 23 at 5:30 p.m; through July 23. https://lagunaplayhouse.com, or (949) 497-2787. Running time 2 hours, 15 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.