By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
Psst! Hey, ladies. Want an opportunity to introduce your man to a night of theater, and be guaranteed he will come home happy?
Arizona Theatre Company is offering exactly that in its intellectual-sounding “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” the Broadway comedy hit by Christopher Durang (“Baby with the Bathwater,” “The Marriage of Bette and Boo”) now playing at the downtown Temple of Music and Art.
Don't be fooled by those three names from the early 20th century work of Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It is true that Durang's play is peppered with more Chekhov references than a fine steak au poivre, but don't worry.
You don't have to know your seagulls from your cherry orchards to get the jokes because everything unrolls non-stop like a string of highlights from comedy skits in the Golden Age of Television – especially the Carol Burnett show.
Durang's fondness for period TV gets massaged like a Kentucky Derby race horse in this 2 1/2-hour romp through the pop culture stew that was popular when the boomers (including Durang) were pre-teens.
In fact the show peaks in its 11th hour moment with Vanya's (Charles Janasz) monologue rant of longing for the good old days of postage stamps and pressure cookers, delivered with such engaging energy the audience filled the Temple with applause.
While Queen of the B Movies, Masha (Suzanne Bouchard), has the flashiest role, all four title characters form an ensemble that equally shares the load of carrying this production.
Sonia (Suzanne Warmanen) is the Everyperson here, frumpy and middle-aged, now coming to believe her entire life has been wasted house-sitting this vast country lodge when she should have been out leading an interesting life while hunting for a man.
The opening scene is sketch comedy at its finest, with Vanya and Sonya as siblings slogging through their own inertia, just trying to have a cup of coffee together first thing in the morning.
Sure, you can say the portrayal of such deep melancholy is Chekhov's bread and butter. But that isn't necessary to say. It sounds pretentious, which is kind of Durang's point.
Comedy is the thing here, like preppy schoolboys having fun making jokes about their homework in English class.
Bouchard gets just the right line as self-absorbed Masha. Eschewing all the comedy stereotypes for such a part, she fills this superficial character with surface – a lot of surface.
Often times, though, the biggest laughs were sparked by the physical comedy of finely muscled Joshua James Campbell in the dumb blond role of Spike. He is Masha's young boy toy, full of puppy dog eagerness to please most everyone he meets.
That would include Nina (Ali Rose Dachis), the even-younger neighbor whose role includes some parallels to Nina in Chekhov's “The Seagull.”
In to spice up the dialogue with some Louisiana bayou voodoo and fortune telling is Isabell Monk O'Connor as Cassandra, outspoken maid of this country lodge and proud of her connection to the otherworldly.
English teachers all over Tucson's metro area will be having the time of their lives catching more pop references to eponymous moments of the Russian playwright's work than they found in Don McLean's “American Pie.” ATC's dramaturge should take a moment to list them all, just to see if anyone can run the table.
But, hey, as noted above you don't need to appreciate any of Durang's word play to enjoy this lively production. This cast with Joel Sass as director keeps the energy high, the body language overflowing and often over the top. What's not to like when there is no thinking required.
“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” continues through Oct. 4, with performances at various times Tuesdays through Sundays. Tickets are $32-$67; discounts and student rush tickets are available. For details and reservations, 520-622-2823, or visit www.arizonatheatre.org
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