Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a comedy play written by Christopher Durang. The story revolves around the relationships of three middle-aged single siblings, two of whom live together, and takes place during a visit by the third, Masha, who supports them. They discuss their lives and loves, argue, and Masha threatens to sell the house. Some of the show's elements were derived from works of Anton Chekhov, including several character names, the play's setting in a cherry orchard, and the theme of the possible loss of an ancestral home. The
Anastasiya Vertinskaya strikingly vivid" and, even more extraordinary, continuously developing in the course of just four short scenes. "In Princess Liza there is a lot of inner dynamics and total integrity," according to the "Actors of Soviet Cinema" (1967) almanac. Vertinskaya's work in Sovremennik ("The Cherry Orchard", "Valentin and Valentina") made critics speak of the "unique gracefulness" and the "technical virtuosity combined with deep psychological insight." Critically acclaimed were her performances in "The Seagull" (Nina) and "Uncle Vanya" (Elena). In "Tartuffe", she elevated her Elmyra "onto on an enormous aesthetic pedestal, presenting her as a kind of noblewoman of old French canvasses,