nj arts maven: MEET THE CAST OF THE WACKY NEW COMEDY ABOUT TO OPEN @ PAPER MILL PLAYHOUSE ON JAN. 21

The master of comedy, Christopher Durang, mixes six distinct characters and dishes up a hilarious stew. “Will Vanya and Sonia ever find happiness?
Will Masha sell the Bucks County farmhouse out from under them?
And will Spike ever put his pants on?” writes USA Today.

MEET THE CAST

PHILIPPE BOWGEN (Spike) appeared Off Broadway in The Danger of Bleeding Brown, Water and Power, Over the Horizon, and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. He was seen in regional productions of Antony and Cleopatra, Oedipus el Rey, and more.

GINA DANIELS (Cassandra) was last seen on Broadway in All the Way. Ms. Daniels performed in regional productions of Doubt, Measure for Measure, As You Like It, A Christmas Carol, and more.

CAROLYN McCORMICK (Masha) appeared in the Broadway companies of Equus, Private Lives, and The Dinner Party. In addition to playing Dr. Olivet on Law & Order, Ms. McCormick was a series regular on Spenser: For Hire and Cracker.

MARK NELSON (Vanya) was seen in the Broadway productions of After the Fall, A Few Good Men, The Invention of Love, Biloxi Blues, and others. Mr. Nelson’s television credits include The Good Wife, Unforgettable, Ed, and Law & Order

MICHELE PAWK (Sonia), a South Orange resident, won the 2003 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance as Louise in Hollywood Arms. She also received Drama Desk Award nominations for Cabaret and Crazy for You.

JAMIE ANN ROMERO (Nina) appeared in regional productions of The Legend of Georgia McBride, The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet, Sunsets and Margaritas, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and others.

DON STEPHENSON (Director) returns to Paper Mill Playhouse, where he directed Lend Me a Tenor and played John Adams in 1776. Mr. Stephenson directed Of Mice and Manhattan for the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, Noises Off and The 39 Steps at the Flat Rock Playhouse, and The Great Unknown for the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Stephenson directed Titanic at Lincoln Center, the Hangar Theatre, and the Muny. He directed critically acclaimed productions of Oleanna, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and the hit musical Doctors and Diseases at the Barter Theatre, which moved Off Broadway to the Players Theater.

CHRISTOPHER DURANG (Playwright) won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Play for Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike. His other plays include Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Betty’s Summer Vacation (all Obie Award winners), Miss Witherspoon (Pulitzer Prize finalist), A History of the American Film (Tony nomination, best book of a musical), Baby with the Bathwater, Durang/Durang (six one-act plays including the Tennessee Williams parody For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls), Sex and Longing, and many more.