LAWRENCE — The third production of Spotlight Players’ new season at the Theater at the Fort offers audiences an evening of hilarity with Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. American playwright Christopher Durang is known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy and he doesn’t disappoint with this 2012 work about three siblings coming together for two days and learning even more about each other and what is really important when it comes to family.
Vanya (Jim LaMonte) and his younger sister Sonia (Kathy Pataluch) have never left the confines of their childhood home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, even after taking care of their elderly parents who have passed away. Their sister, Masha (Nan Macy) is a successful, but aging, movie star and has had little to do with the family over the years. A surprise visit from her and her 20-something boy toy, Spike, (Rahshe Byrd) throws the normally quiet household into utter upheaval, as all get swept up into an intoxicating mixture of lust, rivalry, regret and the sudden possibility of escape. Rounding out the cast is Jenni White who plays Cassandra, the psychic housekeeper, and Megan Nicole Smith who plays Nina, an aspiring young actress who happens to be visiting her grandparents this same weekend at the neighboring home.
Show dates are April 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17. Show times are 8:00 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2:30 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $15 adults, $12 seniors and students, and $10 for military personnel. Purchase tickets online at www.brownpapertickets.com or call 317-366-4795. Theater at the Fort is located at 8920 Otis Ave.
The cast and crew are asking all patrons to bring a package of underwear (men, women or children) to be donated to Horizon House (a resource center and shelter for Indianapolis’ homeless neighbors) and Coburn Place (a safe haven for women and children who experience domestic violence). Patrons with a donation will have their names added to a drawing for two season passes for Spotlight Players’ 2016-2017 season. One name will be drawn at the end of the final show on April 17.