A Perfect "Vanya & Sonia & Sasha & Spike"; An Entertaining "Encounter"

I greatly enjoyed Christopher Durang's witty farce "Vanya & Sonia & Sasha & Spike" when I first saw it at Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse stage more than a year ago.  In part, I was surprised by how much I liked the show and its humor, despite the fact that its style (farce) is usually lost on me.  For me, the highlight of that production was Kristine Nielsen, who expertly navigated the tricky role of Sonia that is necessary to get right to make the play work.  One quibble I had with that production was that Nielsen's performance towered over that of her sibling nemesis Masha played by Sigourney Weaver.  But I liked the play enough to want to see it again.

I had hoped that the CTG's production of "Vanya..." might be as good as the original production, especially since Nielsen was reprising her role as Sonia.  What I did not expect was that this David Hyde Pierce (the original Vanya) directed version would exceed its predecessor by a considerable margin.  But it does.  Indeed, the play seems funnier, deeper and more layered in its LA mounting.  I think this is due in large part to the genius casting of Christine Ebersole in the role of Masha, who more than holds her own with Ms. Nielsen's Sonia.  Where Sigourney Weaver played her role as fairly similar in both acts of the play, Ms. Ebersole is a very changed person in Act 2-  it shows and it works to deepen the quite complex themes of the play.  After seeing this sterling production, I am now of the view that Durang's "Vanya..." is one of the finest stage comedies I have seen.  

If you are in Los Angeles and want to catch a pitch-perfect production of this Tony Award winner for best play, get yourself to the Mark Taper Forum before it closes on March 16.

Another "don't miss" production now playing in the LA area is the Kneehigh's (from London) brilliant and moving taking on "Brief Encounter" now playing at the new Wallis Anneberg Performing Arts complex in Beverly Hills.  I first saw and loved this ingenious melding of stage and screen in New York,  at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn.   I must admit this new, if overly formal and reserved, theatrical venue in Beverly Hills is a less than perfect house for this wonderful show, and I much preferred the scrappier and looser Brooklyn site for this work.  But the cast, some of whom remain from the version I saw four years ago, is outstanding.  I especially liked the performance of Damon Daunno, whom I felt gave the show much of its heart and soul, despite playing a supporting role.  The multi-talented Mr. Daunno is a young star in the making, as further evidenced by the outstanding lead performance he gave in the terrific new musical "Fly By Night" that I saw earlier this year in Dallas.   I hope he reprises that role when 'Fly By Night" plays at Playwrights Horizons in NY in May.  

"Brief Encounter" is a sheer delight to behold, and the concept is brilliant and sustained throughout.  Much of the staging still took my breath away, despite having seen it before.  Try not to miss this before it is swept away on March 23.