Veteran San Juan Island actress Joy Van Camp will lead a cast of equally polished local performers as part of her directorial debut in San Juan Community Theatre’s production of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.”

Written by Christopher Durang, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” is a 2013 Tony Award winner for Best Play. Featuring a scintillating dialogue brimming with barbs, wit and allure, and rich in illustration of a family at odds, the play opens for the start of a seven performance over its two-week run on the theatre’s Whittier stage, Thursday, Oct. 16.

“I think it’s so fun that it’s a modern play—something that many of us couldn’t have traveled to see on Broadway,” Van Camp said.

The play centers around the travails of Vanya and Sonia, middle-aged siblings who live in the family home in Pennsylvania. Named for characters in plays by Anton Chekhov, Vanya and Sonia, remain sheltered from the world; neither has a job, and money is provided to them by their sister Masha, a movie star who owns the house and pays the bills.

Vanya, a frustrated writer, and Sonia, forever reminding all that she is adopted, spend their days bemoaning their rather Chekovian lot in life. When Masha returns home, with her young, ambitious lover, Spike, in tow, their world is turned upside down.

Although the play is peppered with allusions to Chekov, Van Camp notes there’s no need to have read his works to enjoy the play. Themes of strained sibling relationshipos and struggling keep pace with a fast-changing world are universal, she said.

And, she said, Durang’s dialogue will keep you laughing, and keep you thinking, as well.

“I think entertainment should make people feel good—and this does,” she said.

Performances are: Thurs-Sat., Oct.16-18, 7:30 p.m., Sun., Oct. 19, 2 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., Oct. 23-25, 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $16 for adults, $8 for students and available at the theatre box office or online, at www.sjctheatre.com