Today (7/28) is the final performance of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” at Jubilee Banquet Facility in Powell. Lunch is at 1 p.m. and the play starts at 2. Reservations are required for lunch, but walk-ups are welcomed for the performance.
This is a funny play – winner of the Tony award in 2013. It’s the tale of three siblings who share a house and are frustrated with their life – each in a different way. They fuss, throw coffee cups and sometimes cry. But when Masha turns up with Spike, a much younger lover following her five failed marriages, the pace picks up.
The highlight is a costume party for which Masha dresses as Snow White and insists that Spike be Prince Charming while the others are dwarfs. The costuming is a hoot and the younger crowd at the party confuses Snow White with Little Bo Peep. It must have been the cane.
Rapid change leaves everyone unsettled, particularly the oldsters who remember licking stamps and sticking one finger into a rotary dial telephone. “If the number was 909-999, it could take hours to dial. We had to have patience,” Vanya tells Spike. Vanya’s meltdown is not the play’s finest moment, though. It’s way too preachy, and it’s weird coming from a guy who’s spent the previous hour and a half just sitting around in his robe.
Loved the true dinner theatre atmosphere at the Jubilee. Diners were seated at round tables for eight and walk-ups had chairs interspersed among the tables. It made for easy visiting and conversation during intermissions, unlike the rigidity of chairs in rows. And the bar was a nice touch.
All-in-all a fun evening. Thanks to artistic director Jill Bergeron for bringing the Free Spirit Theatre to Powell.