8 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Photo by Bob Kroll
From left: Gigi Chadwick, Daric
Moore, Rick Grey and Sheila Shaff er
run through a scene from ‘Vanya
and Sonia and Masha and Spike.’
FAMILY
TIES
IF YOU GO
What: “Vanya and Sonia and Masha
and Spike,” a comedy by Christopher
Durang
‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ is a comedy about connections
By NANCY MCCARTHY
FOR COAST WEEKEND
V
anya bemoans a lost past.
Sonia laments that she is a
“wild turkey.” Masha lusts
after what could have been.
No one is satisfi ed with their lives.
But they are connected by the ultimate
tie that binds: the family tie.
Their story is told in the play “Vanya
and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” open-
ing at the Coaster Theatre Playhouse at
7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 1. It runs weekends
through Feb. 23.
Winner of the 2013 Tony Award for
Best Play, the comedy was written by
Christopher Durang, who incorporated ref-
erences from Anton Chekhov’s plays. It
takes place in the morning room of a farm-
house in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Vanya and his adopted sister, Sonia, grew
up in the home and took care of their par-
ents, who both suffered from Alzheimer’s
disease for 15 years.
Now alone and wondering what hap-
pened to their lives, they are visited by
their older sister, Masha, a glamorous
screen and stage star, who brings along her
lover, the much younger Spike.
Director Susi Brown, who has directed
several productions at the Coaster, says the
play is “very much about family and the
sense of home.”
“Every family has their squabbles and
moments of pulling together … . and I
think Durang has really explored that in
terms of fi nding and creating two mid-
dle-aged, very dissatisfi ed people with the
Where: Coaster Theatre Playhouse,
108 N. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach
When: Opening at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 1;
runs weekends through Feb. 23, with
matinees at 3 p.m. Sundays, Feb. 10
and 17.
Cost: $20 and $25
Tickets: The box offi ce is open from
1 to 5 p.m. Wednesday through
Saturday and from 1 p.m. to curtain
on performance days. Tickets can also
be purchased via the theater’s website
at coastertheatre.com or call (503)
436-1242.