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<\/p>\nAfter a sold-out opening weekend, the cast and crew of Vanya and Sonya and Masha and Spike at the Off-Central will be back at it, for the second and final weekend of performances, come Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The St. Petersburg black box theater has just 43 seats, and the Tony-winning comedy by Christopher Durang is the kind of play that rewards that sort of close contact. It almost feels like we, the audience, are eavesdropping.<\/p>\n
Vania and Sonya are a middle-aged brother and sister. They live together, not doing much of anything, in the Pennsylvania family home where they were raised. Sister Masha is a movie star who lives \u2013 naturally \u2013 out of town, and since she pays all the bills, her siblings don\u2019t have to work.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s all sort of dysfunction in this particular family, and it\u2019s laid bare when Masha comes sweeping in for an unexpected visit, accompanied by her latest Hollywood boy-toy, an empty-headed stud called Spike.<\/p>\n
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The gang\u2019s all here: Gregory, left, Schroeder, Eve Grissinger, Will Rickard, Bonilla-Mas, Tracey Reynolds, stage manager Marcus Wheby and director Dylan Barlowe. Photo by Jess Washington.<\/p>\n
This Off-Central production features a stellar ensemble cast that fires on all cylinders, for the comedy\u2019s two-hour run time (Vanya et al are joined in various scenes by a noisy and possibly psychic cleaning lady, and a nice girl from up the street who wants to be an actress).<\/p>\n
\u201cI spent the first week of rehearsals developing the ensemble,\u201d explains director Dylan Barlowe. \u201cNot developing the characters of the show. And through that, you find that you\u2019re developing the characters, as you\u2019re playing and discussing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Barlowe says he could feel the chemistry forming as soon as the six actors, chosen through an audition process, were in the same room together.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got on our feet and played theater games. And I ran workshops where we did laughing exercises, where we\u2019re all laughing together. They\u2019re meant to build the ensemble as a family who\u2019s working on intimate work for the next month together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Michael Gregory plays grouchy older brother Vanya, with Jill Schroeder as nervous sister Sonya. Tracey Reynolds is Masha the self-important actress, and Will Rickard plays Spike, who more often than not is parading around in his underwear.<\/p>\n
The cast is rounded out by Hayah Bonilla-Mas (Cassandra, the housekeeper) and Eve Grissinger (Nina, the girl-next-door).<\/p>\n
\u201cThis show is inherently human,\u201d Barlowe believes. \u201cThese characters that are going through what we call the midlife crisis, it resonates and relates to anyone. There are just so many times that you think \u2018God, I wish I would have done this,\u2019 or \u2018I wish I\u2019ve said this thing to this person.\u2019 Hindsight is 20\/20.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can understand why the two siblings who are at home might feel like \u2018We haven\u2019t done anything with our lives.\u2019 But then we meet their sibling, who we would consider fabulously successful, and she\u2019s dealing with the same thing: \u2018Where has my life gone?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Barlowe\u2019s most recent directing job at Off-Central was the Christmas comedy Who\u2019s Holiday in 2025. For American Stage, he directed the outdoor adventures The Diaries of Adam & Eve and Don\u2019t Feed the Animals.<\/p>\n
The St. Petersburg native is also a professional fight choreographer, and an actor.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s that last designation that, Barlowe believes, made directing the Vanya and Sonya ensemble \u2026 not easy, exactly, but a thoroughly enjoyable creative experience. \u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI keep the actor in the front of my mind,\u201d he says. \u201cto make sure that they\u2019re empowered to make decisions and play in the sandbox. And then we find out how everybody\u2019s imagination comes together to tell one cohesive story.\u201d<\/p>\n