{"id":8707,"date":"2014-09-08T12:59:44","date_gmt":"2014-09-08T17:59:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/college.unc.edu\/?p=8707"},"modified":"2024-07-02T14:42:06","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T14:42:06","slug":"durangcomedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/collegearchive.unc.edu\/?p=8707","title":{"rendered":"PlayMakers opens season Sept. 17 with Tony Award-winning comedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>
From left to right, Arielle Yoder as Nina, Julie Fishell as Masha, Christian Daly as Spike (standing), Jeffrey Blair Cornell as Vanya and Julia Gibson as Sonia (in background). Photo by Jon Gardiner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

PlayMakers Repertory Company kicks off its main-stage season Sept. 17-Oct. 5 with the Tony Award-winning comedy \u201cVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike\u201d by Christopher Durang.<\/p>\n

PlayMakers is the professional theater in residence at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Special events associated with the show begin Sept. 10.<\/p>\n

\u201cVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike\u201d enjoyed acclaimed Broadway and Off-Broadway runs and garnered numerous honors including the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play, Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and the New York Drama Critic\u2019s Circle Award for Best Play.<\/p>\n

Playwright Durang has crafted a show for theater-lovers. Borrowing from the works of Russian master Anton Chehkov, including character names and other references to his great dramas, The New York Times said the comedy \u201cmakes heartache into fodder for belly laughs.\u201d PlayMakers calls the show \u201cone part Chekhov, plus a heaping portion of hilarity with a dash of misery. Mix with pop culture and shake furiously with laughter for a side-splitting good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New York Times also raved that \u201cVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike\u201d is \u201cDeliriously funny! Comic acting raised to the level of high art.\u201d USA Today proclaimed the show \u201ca wild, winning ride! Hugely entertaining!\u201d<\/p>\n

Durang\u2019s reputation for outrageous, often absurd comedy prompted Entertainment Weekly to call the comedy\u201cEntirely, indisputably, oh-no-he-didn\u2019t Durang!\u201d<\/p>\n

PlayMakers performances will be in the Paul Green Theatre in UNC\u2019s department of dramatic art on Country Club Road. Show times will be 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays and Sunday, Oct. 5; 2 p.m. Sundays and Saturday, Sept. 27. There are no performances Saturday, Oct. 4.<\/p>\n

\"Arielle<\/a>
From left, Arielle Yoder as Nina and Julie Fishell as Masha, with Christian Daly (in background) as Spike. Photo by Jon Gardiner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For a complete schedule, more information and to purchase tickets, call (919) 962-PLAY (7529) or visit www.playmakersrep.org<\/a>. Individual ticket prices start at $15. Tickets are also available as part of PlayMakers\u2019 2014-2015 subscription packages.<\/p>\n

The production is directed by Libby Appel, artistic director emerita of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Appel helmed PlayMakers\u2019 production of \u201cThe Glass Menagerie\u201d (2009). She has directed all of Chekhov\u2019s plays and recently completed new translations of \u201cIvanov,\u201d \u201cThe Seagull,\u201d \u201cUncle Vanya,\u201d \u201cThree Sisters\u201d and \u201cThe Cherry Orchard\u201d for the book \u201cFive Chekhov Plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

In conjunction with \u201cVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,\u201d PlayMakers will host \u201cThe Vision Series-Directors in Conversation,\u201d a behind-the-scenes preview with Appel, Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m. in the Paul Green Theatre. The event is free and open to the public. Participants share coffee and hors d\u2019oeuvres provided by series sponsor Jujube Restaurant, learn about the vision for the show and get a sneak peek at the sets and costumes in progress. Reservations are appreciated. Call PlayMakers\u2019 box office at (919) 962-7529 to RSVP.<\/p>\n

\"From<\/a>
From left, Jeffrey Blair Cornell as Vanya and Julia Gibson as Sonia. Photo by Jon Gardiner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other special events will include:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Sept. 15, 6 p.m.: a discussion with the director and cast at McIntyre\u2019s Books, Fearrington Village, Pittsboro;<\/li>\n
  • Sept 17, 18 and 19, 7:30 p.m.: preview performances;<\/li>\n
  • Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m.: opening night performance with complimentary gala party afterward;<\/li>\n
  • Sept. 24 and 28: free post-show discussions with members of the creative team;<\/li>\n
  • Sept. 27, 2 p.m.: open captioned performance;<\/li>\n
  • Sept. 30: an all-access performance for attendees with special needs, with sign language interpretation and audio description;<\/li>\n
  • Oct. 5, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.: free post-show \u201cMindplay\u201d discussions sponsored by the North Carolina Psychoanalytic Society.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Carol Woods Retirement Community is corporate co-producing sponsor for \u201cVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.\u201d<\/p>\n

    During the 2014-15 main-stage season, PlayMakers will also present Stephen Sondheim\u2019s Tony Award-winning musical \u201cInto the Woods\u201d with \u201cA Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u201d by William Shakespeare (performed in rotating repertory Nov. 1-Dec. 7); \u201cTrouble in Mind\u201d (Jan. 21-Feb.8); \u201cAn Enemy of the People\u201d (Feb. 25-March 15); and \u201c4000 Miles\u201d (April 1-19).<\/p>\n

    PlayMakers is based in UNC\u2019s College of Arts and Sciences. The Drama League has named PlayMakers one of the \u201cbest regional theatre companies in America.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    PlayMakers Repertory Company kicks off its main-stage season Sept. 17-Oct. 5 with the Tony Award-winning comedy \u201cVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike\u201d by Christopher Durang.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":8870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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