TISCH MILLS, Wis. (WFRV) – The Forst Inn Arts Collective will present nine performances of the eclectic comedy-drama “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” starting Friday, June 10. Info.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. June 10-11; 2 p.m. June 12; and 7:30 p.m. June 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, and 25.
According to a press release: Written by Christopher Durang, the play takes crazy elements from Anton Chekhov, pours them into a blender, and mixes them up for a comic and occasionally touching result.
Durang covers a landscape of themes that include family, fame, sexuality, parental caregiving, technology, the environment, values, and mythology.
Everything turns around in a household in Bucks County (an artsy place), Pennsylvania. Three siblings were named for characters created by Chekhov by scholarly parents who were into community theater (there’s a joke there).
Vanya and Sonia cared for their parents to the end, including their father being embattled by Alzheimer’s. Masha was off being “a world-class actress and movie star” to others and a highly embossed, oversexed, selfish egotist to her siblings. In the mix are a soothsayer, an innocent neighbor, and Spike, Masha’s latest amore, an earthy personality.
The production features Forst Inn favorites Dan Sallinen as Vanya, Vicki Svacina as Masha, and Blane Rezach as Spike along with newcomers Deb Oettinger as Sonia, Katie Baumgartner as Nina, and Stephanie Miller as Cassandra.
The production is directed by Cathy Delain.
Music is provided in the pub during the hour before the performance by the duo Meet the Seavers.
The Forst Inn is located at E2910 County Road BB in Tisch Mills, 30 minutes or less from Green Bay, Kewaunee, and Manitowoc.
