The Library for the Performing Arts Play Club [IN PERSON]

Play Club is like a book club, but for plays! Whether you are familiar with the art of reading plays, or looking to expand your appreciation for dramatic literature, this book club is an opportunity to read plays you have been meaning to explore or have never considered reading before. Learn about new works, discover new playwrights, and make friends! This month we read and discuss Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang.

This group will read one playscript from the Library for the Performing Arts circulating collection every month, and then come together to discuss the work. We will read one scene from the play together and discuss the text in a book club discussion format.

This program will take place in person at the Library for the Performing Arts Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab. If you would like to participate in an online version of the Play Club, join us on Monday, August 25 on Zoom.

This program is intended for adult patrons.

Thursday, August 21 at 6:30pm -

Middle-aged siblings Vanya and Sonia share a home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where they bicker and complain about the circumstances of their lives. Suddenly, their movie-star sister, Masha, swoops in with her new boy toy, Spike. Old resentments flare up, eventually leading to threats to sell the house. Also on the scene are sassy maid Cassandra, who can predict the future, and a lovely young aspiring actress named Nina, whose prettiness somewhat worries the imperious Masha.

Christopher Durang’s plays include A History of the American Film (Tony nomination, Best Book of a Musical), The Actor’s Nightmare, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains it All for You (Obie Award, Off-Broadway run, 1981-83), Beyond Therapy, Baby with the Bathwater, The Marriage of Bette and Boo (Public Theater, 1985; Obie Award, Dramatists Guild Hull Warriner Award), Laughing Wild, Betty’s Summer Vacation, and Durang Durang (an evening of six plays) among many others. MFA from the Yale School of Drama. He served as co-chair with Marsha Norman of the Playwriting Program at the Juilliard School in Manhattan and was a member of the Dramatists Guild Council. Durang passed away in 2024.

We have a few copies of the play available at the Library for the Performing Arts, but if you are looking for additional copies, the Drama Book Shop has graciously set aside copies of the play at a discounted price of 10% off for Play Club attendees. (While supplies last.) Please visit the Drama Book Shop to purchase your copy.

Photo Credit: From left, actors Suzanne Warmanen, Candy Buckley, Joshua James Campbell, and Charles Janasz in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike by Christopher Durang. Photograph by Joan Marcus, 2014. Billy Rose Theatre Division.

ASSISTIVE LISTENING AND ASL | ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing [email protected].

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Harvey Fierstein Theatre Lab, 111 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, United States