You might say Hartford Stage has Tony fever. Not only did the musical "A Gentlemen's Guide To Love and Murder," which was developed and produced by Hartford Stage, win big at last Sunday's Tony Awards, but also the 2013 Tony winner for best play is currently running at the theater.
Christopher Durang's comedy, "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike," weaves themes and bits of plot lines from several Anton Chekhov plays. Director Maxwell Williams said that making comedy from the often gloomy subject matter of Chekhov's plays gives Durang's play an extra layer of complexity and emotion.
"Gratefully," Williams said, "audiences have been very warm to it. They laugh a lot, and then these moments of real pathos, or tenderness, or poignancy almost creep in."
The play tells the story of Vanya and Sonia, two siblings living a quiet life in the country, when their movie star sister Masha drops in with some unsettling news. Along for the ride are Masha's much younger boyfriend -- an up-and-coming actor named Spike -- and Nina, a girl visiting her aunt and uncle, who live next door to Vanya and Sonia.
Christopher Durang's "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" runs through June 22.
