By BETHANY SHERROW
Assistant News Editor

(WARRENSBURG, Mo., digitalBURG) — Looking for a comedy with lots of dark undertones that ends on a sunny note? Well, look no further.

PHOTO BY BRANDON BOWMAN / PHOTO EDITOR
Sonia (center) and Vanya look on as Cassandra makes an outlandish prediction about the future of their house.

I watched “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” on opening night Tuesday. Among the crowd were enthusiastic theater parents, UCM faculty, community members and students.

All were greeted by soothing coffee shop-esque music and the most beautiful set I’ve ever seen on the Highlander Theatre stage.

The setting of the play was in the backyard of an old farmhouse in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The house was realistic, and every detail added to the charm of the backyard. It looked lived in, it looked like somewhere Vanya and Sonia truly spent their whole lives. With a bird feeder, hanging flowers, whicker chairs and wind chimes, the set elevated the show by taking the audience into the world of the show. I was incredibly impressed by the shingles which must’ve taken literally hours to place on the house. I can’t say enough about the set. Even as I left the Highlander, I could hardly tear my eyes from the stage. Sincere congratulations are in order to the scenic designer Elizabeth Pecher and faculty scenic design supervisor Michael Benson.

While the set design was beautiful, some of the dialogue was ugly. The play was a comedy, but it was riddled with real problems. The characters were mean to one another; they made obvious and subtle jabs. There was plenty of conflict. I think that was part of what made it so funny. “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” held a mirror to real life and uncovered the humor in even the most difficult situations. This play kept it real, and that was part of its beauty.

It’s a play most everyone can laugh at, but maybe more importantly, it has developed, relatable characters. The play by Christopher Durang fed the audience plenty of references, but the most prominent references were the characters’ names.

Vanya, played by Dane Schnake; Sonia, played by Kaelyn Whitt; and Masha, played by Nellie Maple are the three children of theater professors. All three are named after characters from the Russian playwright Anton Chekov’s plays.

Vanya and Sonia have lived their lives caring for their elderly parents and have lived in the same childhood home. Masha, on the other hand, chose to leave and become an actress. The small cast also included Masha’s movie star boyfriend Spike, played by Nicholas Pogue. While I don’t know why Durang didn’t just keep listing names for the play’s title, two characters were not listed.

Nina, played by Marisa Perry was Vanya and Sonia’s young next-door neighbor. She was an eager young woman with aspirations of becoming an actress. Nina is also named for a Chekov character, though not by theater professor parents.

Vanya and Sonia’s “psychic” cleaning lady Cassandra, played by Emmy Panzica, stole much of the show with her over-the-top antics. Cassandra’s name refers to the Cassandra in Greek mythology.

Usually I would mention a cast member who stood out. However, every actor was a good fit for the character they played. Every character served a purpose. Vanya drove the show forward as the peacemaker and voice of reason. Sonia brought a relatable fatalistic voice. She’s a glass-half-empty kind of gal and I think that’s something we can all relate to, especially during the weeks before finals. She brings the drama, but maybe not quite as much as Masha. Masha brings the drama. She is incredibly overbearing from the beginning and a character that I found I began to like progressively more throughout the show. Spike was hot, but actually, there wasn’t much to his character. As Nina said, he’s basically just a personalityless hunk roaming around the stage in his underwear, making ladies and Vanya blush (spoiler alert: Vanya’s gay). Nina brought a likeable innocence to contrast Masha’s jaded attitude.

The show was full of conflict: clashes between siblings, ages and ideas. It ended on a happy and hopeful note as the three siblings sat in their backyard looking on their lake, watching for the red herring, listening to the Beatles in the background, anticipating the future. In my mind, that’s where they still are today.