NewsPHOTO CALL: Kelsey Grammer, Andrew Rannells, Alfre Woodard, BD Wong and More Celebrate LA Opening of Vanya and SoniaTony and Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce, who was Tony-nominated for his performance in Broadway's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, directs that Tony-winning Christopher Durang farce, which officially opened Feb. 9 following previews that began Jan. 29 at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum.
By
Joseph Marzullo
February 11, 2014
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Kelsey Grammer, Andrew Rannells, Alfre Woodard, BD Wong and More Celebrate LA Opening of Vanya and Sonia
Kelsey Grammer, Andrew Rannells, Alfre Woodard, BD Wong and More Celebrate LA Opening of Vanya and Sonia
Tony and Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce, who was Tony-nominated for his performance in Broadway's Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, directs that Tony-winning Christopher Durang farce, which officially opened Feb. 9 following previews that began Jan. 29 at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum. Read the Playbill.com story.
Performances at the West Coast venue are scheduled through March 9.
Pierce based the production on the work of Nicholas Martin, who directed the Broadway staging. Martin had been announced to direct the Los Angeles production but was forced to withdraw due to scheduling conflicts.
Set in 21st century Bucks County, PA, with hints of 19th-century Russia, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, according to press notes, is a "riotous comedy with the Chekhovian set-up of a middle-aged Vanya and his stepsister, Sonia, who live together in their ancestral farmhouse, complete with a pond and a cherry orchard. Their normally quiet existence is thrown into upheaval by the surprise visit from their glamorous, movie-star sibling, Masha, and her 20-something boyfriend, Spike, the unlikely prophecies of their cleaning lady and an all too important costume party."
The production features sets by David Korins, costumes by Gabriel Berry, lighting by David Weiner and original music and sound design by Mark Bennett. The production stage manager is David S. Franklin.
For tickets, priced $20-$70, call (213) 972-4444 or visit online at CenterTheatreGroup.org.
The Mark Taper Forum is located at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Los Angeles.
The production will include Bernstein’s incidental music for Lillian Hellman’s adaptation of The Lark, and Menotti’s The Unicorn, The Gorgon, and The Manticore.
