I took a quick jaunt down to the Provincetown Theater to see Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.  While I’d love to ramble on about the fantastic set and unfussy direction, these plays all rise or fall on the actors.  Provincetown is fortunate to have a balanced troupe that works well together.  Since I know my audience, let’s get right to Jeff Brackett as Spike.  One must acknowledge his physical beauty, his rippling body, an ass that goes on for days, and a penis that bounces along in the undies he’s usually sporting.  But, brace yourself – he can also act.  There is such depth to his portrayal, one wonders if he put more thought into the role than Durang himself!  It may seem impossible based on what I just said, but Jennifer Cabral steals virtually every scene she’s in.  Her Sonia is always up to something – even if it’s just a twinkle in her mischievous eyes.  Susan Lambert as Masha gets most of the bitchy lines and plays imperious to the hilt.  William Mullin captures the frustration of downtrodden Vanya to the point that he is the most Chekhovian.  The show has been playing to full houses all summer, so I suggest you grab tickets quickly since it closes on August 28^th.  More information can be found at ProvincetownTheater.org.

Meanwhile in NYC, Jinkx Monsoon took over the titular role in Broadway’s Oh, Mary! and had a resounding success.  Somehow I missed that she’d be joined by Kumail Nanjiani as Lincoln (naturally) and Michael Urie as her teacher.  The cast was rapturously received by the capacity crowd.  They stay with the show until September 28^th.

Across the pond, Rosie O’Donnell enjoyed capacity crowds at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a new solo show.  Rosie O’Donnell: Common Knowledge is more of a one-woman show than her usual stand-up act.  It’s the story of her life, starting with the death of her mother – predictably not one of the funnier sections.  One critic described it this way: “The US star’s engaging set is largely an earnest love letter to her non-binary child and newly adopted home of Ireland.”  The run sold out quickly and critics are applauding the meld of writing, comedy and storytelling.  Someone who saw a preview in Dublin was Cynthia Nixon.  “Nothing like seeing my friend (and Miranda’s one-night stand, Mary) kill it onstage IN DUBLIN.  And we had the luck of the Irish to see her once more at the airport as she was taking her show to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.”