"The thing I really admire about Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is the way it jumps back and forth from funny to touching, and it does both very well," commented director Don Stephenson.
Philippe Bowgen (Spike) appeared off-Broadway in The Danger of Bleeding Brown, Water and Power, Over the Horizon and Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992. Bowgen was seen in regional productions of Antony and Cleopatra, Oedipus el Rey, Darko Tresnjak's Macbeth and more. His film credits include Son of a Kingpin, Sobrevivo and The Remains of Something Whole.
Carolyn McCormick (Masha) appeared in the Broadway companies of Equus, Private Lives and The Dinner Party. McCormick was seen off-Broadway in The Open House, Family Furniture, Black Tie, Celebration and more. In addition to playing Dr. Olivet on Law & Order, McCormick was a series regular on Spenser: For Hire and Cracker. She has been a guest star on Blue Bloods, Body of Proof, Cold Case, Judging Amy, The Practice, Homicide, Star Trek, L.A. Law and more. Her film credits include You Know My Name, Loverboy, Enemy Mine, Nights in Rodanthe, Whatever Works and Downtown Express.
Mark Nelson (Vanya) was seen in the Broadway productions of After the Fall, A Few Good Men, The Invention of Love, Bioxi Blues and others. Nelson appeared in productions of Timon of Athens at The Public Theater, Three Sisters at Roundabout, The Winter's Tale at BAM, The Invention of Love at Lincoln Center and more. Some of his regional credits include Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Uncle Vanya, The Merchant of Venice, Underneath the Lintel, Talley's Folly, Falsettos and I Am My Own Wife. 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. Pawk received Drama Desk Award nominations for Cabaret and Crazy for You. On Broadway, Pawk also appeared in Hairspray, Losing Louie, Mamma Mia!, Chicago, Seussical, Triumph of Love and Mail. She appeared in off-Broadway productions of Giant, A Small Fire, The Paris Letter, Hello Again, Merry We Roll Along and more. Pawk's television credits include Law & Order, Guiding Light, All My Children, Shannon's Deal, The Golden Girls, L.A. Law and more.
Gina Daniels (Cassandra) was last seen on Broadway in All the Way. Daniels performed in regional productions of Doubt, Measure for Measure, As You Like It, A Christmas Carol and more. 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. Other New York directing credits include Buck Simple (Garrick Gaieties), When Pigs Fly (Kaufman Theatre), Golden Voices (Symphony Space), Old Flames (Theatre-Studio Inc.) and a workshop of My Time of Day: The Music of Frank Loesser. Stephenson also directed The Desperate Hours and Through All Kinds of Weather at the Clarence Brown Theatre and Sleeping Beauty at American Stage Festival.
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. Also a performer, Mr. Durang has appeared in several of his own plays and cabaret acts. A New Jersey native, he attended Harvard College and the Yale School of Drama, and he is co-chair with Marsha Norman of Juilliard's playwrights program. His numerous honors include the Lila Wallace–Reader's Digest Writers' Award, Guggenheim and Rockefeller fellowships, and induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
The Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike design team includes:
David Korins (Scenic Design) has designed sets for many Broadway shows including Motown, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Annie, Passing Strange and more. At Paper Mill Playhouse, Korins designed sets for Anne Frank, Godspell and The Other Josh Cohen.
Leon Dobkowski (Costume Design) returns to Paper Mill Playhouse, where he recently served as the assistant costume designer on Can-Can. On Broadway, Dobkowski served as the associate/assistant costume designer on The Trip to Bountiful, Nice Work If You Can Get It, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and more.
Stephen Terry (Lighting Design) served as the associate lighting designer on the Broadway productions of Glengarry Glen Ross and The People in the Picture. Terry served as the assistant lighting designer on the Broadway production of Sixteen Wounded. At Paper Mill Playhouse, Terry served as the lighting designer for Lend Me a Tenor.
Mark Bennett (Original Music & Sound Design) has designed sound and composed original music for many Broadway shows including Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Macbeth, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Coast of Utopia, Golda's Balcony and more.
Leah J. Loukas (Hair & Wig Design) worked on the Broadway productions of On the Town, A Night with Janis Joplin, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, American Idiot and Irena's Vow. At Paper Mill Playhouse Loukas designed Elf, Grease, The Sound of Music, The Little Mermaid, Oliver! and South Pacific.
Amanda Stephens (Scenic Coordination) served as assistant scenic designer for the Broadway productions of Motown, Annie, Bring It On, Magic/Bird, Imaginary Friends and Godspell. Stephens also worked on the Broadway productions of Lombardi, Passing Strange and The Times They Are A- Changin'.
Telsey + Company (Casting) is an award-winning organization of casting professionals in New York City with local, regional, national and international clientele including Broadway and touring companies of If/Then, The King and I, Motown, Kinky Boots, Finding Neverland, Honeymoon in Vegas, Rock of Ages and Wicked. The lead casting director on this project is Karyn Casl, CSA.
Gary Mickelson (Production Stage Manager) recently stage managed Can-Can and Elf at Paper Mill Playhouse. On Broadway, Mr. Mickelson stage managed First Date, Memphis, Gypsy, Company, Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life, The Lion in Winter and Victor/Victoria.
