'Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike' Opens Boots on the Ground's 2025-26 Season

Following their collaboration on last year’s Boots on the Ground production of Terrence McNally’s “It’s Only a Play,” Bonnie Grice and Bob Kaplan are teaming up once again as actor and director for the company’s newest show — “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” by the late Christopher Durang, which opens this week at the Southampton Cultural Center.

Headlining Boots on the Ground’s 2025–26 season, the play follows three middle-aged siblings — Vanya, Sonia and Masha — and Masha’s latest lover, Spike, as Masha tries to sell the house out from under the rest of her siblings.

In a recent interview, Grice and Kaplan shared their excitement about working together again. Grice, the theater company’s founder and artistic director, explained that after the success of last year, she offered Kaplan the opportunity to direct, and he chose “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”

“Bob said he’d always wanted to direct this show,” Grice said. “When you have a director who’s this good, you go with his flow.”

That flow, for Kaplan, begins with telling a story, and making sure each character stands out. In the case of this show, humor is essential.

“Each character in ‘Vanya’ has quirky aspects that show up during the telling of the story,” Kaplan explained. “The challenge is to make each one believable while they’re doing goofy stuff.

“I start preparing months in advance,” he continued. “I read the play many times trying to get a feel for the tone and look the production should have. I also try to find situations that I could interpret in a unique way with the actors.”

Grice, who plays Sonia, the adopted sister, said that it has been “challenging and wonderful” to inhabit her character’s psyche. Grice’s performance as Sonia marks her nearly 30th role in East End theater.

“Sonia ‘doesn’t really belong here, or anywhere,’” Grice said, quoting the script. “She’s downtrodden, depressed, she hasn’t lived, especially compared to her Hollywood star sister.” The cast also features Randall Hemming as Vanya, Alyson Friedman as Masha, Thaddeus C. Plezia as Spike, Kristin Dougherty as Cassandra and Leah Kerensky as Nina.

“Everyone in the cast is a new face for Boots on the Ground theater, and we’re super excited for that,” Grice said.

In addition to being an actor, Grice’s role as artistic director and producer of each of the company’s shows requires her to be a liaison between her team and the Southampton Cultural Center, and to make sure everything runs smoothly — including marketing, fundraising and the creation of set pieces and costumes. Grice explained that for this production, they had to acquire a few “off the wall” costume pieces, one being a Snow White dress.

“Get ready for a crazy, funny, emotional ride,” Grice said. “Sibling rivalry with a bit of Disney’s ‘Snow White’ thrown in just for fun.”

Finally, Kaplan explained that the most important part about putting on a Christopher Durang show is making sure the humor comes through, and that requires a lot of trust between the cast.

“In some cases, you can create funny stuff that is not in the words of the play by altering the timing or movements of the actors,” Kaplan said. “All of this comes from a trusting collaboration with the actors, using ideas they come up with, along with my own ideas.”

Grice added that rehearsals have been “intense,” in the best sense of the word.

“Bob is deep diving into every character — their dynamic, their chemistry, almost every move,” she said. “You can tell this is one of his favorite plays, and it makes us that much more motivated to do the work.

“Bob is one of the best, most insightful directors I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with,” she continued. “When you have that kind of connection with a director, on all levels, that’s theater gold.”

Boots on the Ground Theater’s production of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” written by Christopher Durang and directed by Bob Kaplan, runs from October 10 to 26 at the Southampton Cultural Center, 25 Pond Lane, Southampton. Tickets are $38 ($28 for students under 21). For tickets, visit scc-arts.org.