East End Icon, Radio personality and Founder of the Boots on the Ground Theater, Bonnie Grice is excited about the upcoming 2025-26 season at the Southampton Cultural Center. It kicks off with the sidesplitting comedy Vanya & Sonia & Masha & Spike. The show will run from October 10th to the 26th at the Southampton Cultural Center. It has been described as “riotous” and “deliriously funny.”
Ms. Grice sat down with Hamptons.com to share her thoughts on the show.
With so many potential plays to pick from, why did you select this show?
Honestly, this one is for Bob Kaplan, our director. After we worked together last year on It’s Only a Play and had such a great experience… I offered him the chance to direct this season; he chose Vanya. He said he’d always wanted to direct this show. And heck. When you have a director who’s this good, you go with his “flow”! It’s turned out to be yet another memorable experience rehearsing and preparing. The cast is all new faces for BOTGT(Boots on the Ground Theater). And we’re super excited for that. The show is over-the-top funny and quite meaningful.
How was the casting process like?
We held 2 nights of auditions at SCC and had one of the biggest turnouts we’ve ever had. The cast we’ve put together is absolutely the best. Made up of experienced actors, some of whom have done the show before. Everyone who auditioned had something to offer. Most folks knew and loved the story. So we had quite the choice to make. And out of those, Bob & I chose this group of thrilling theatrical thespians. Including: Kristin Dougherty as Cassandra, Aly Friedman as Masha, Randall Hemming as Vanya, Thaddeus C. Plezia as Spike, Leah Kerensky as Nina. And yours truly, as the downtrodden adopted sister Sonia.
What has been most gratifying with your theater experience on the East End?
Just doing the work. “Putting it together,” as Sondheim says. I’ve had the pleasure and honor of working with a wide range of actors and directors over these years on the East End. And well before I started Boots on the Ground Theater, I’ve always known I wanted to try acting, but never really thought about producing. Turns out I kind of like that side of the work as well. Most of the time. Lol. Maybe from my years producing radio… or that I’m kind of OCD. Whatever the cause, it’s been a kind of dare I say “natural,” at times agonizing, frustrating, tear your hair out progression—transiting from putting radio shows together to doing it onstage. It can be painful at times. Keeping track of all the details. But it pays off by seeing your work and that of your colleagues take shape. I like the challenge of piecing everything together: i.e., the producer side. And I truly love the acting side. Inhabiting characters. Understanding them, listening, and trying to follow a director’s perspective. It’s sometimes hard to separate the two. But I aim to do my best for everyone involved. I really want them to come away from their experience with BOTGT nodding and saying, “yeah, that was special. That was worthwhile. I had such a great time,” and maybe come back and join us again.
You are an East End icon. What draws you to living in the East End?
My husband and I both toy with exploring other places to live. But I gotta say, I keep coming back to the pros of this place. Yes, it’s expensive. But the beaches…! Yes, the summers are frenetic and weird. But our cozy little house is a refuge! Yes, the thrill of the new. But our friends and our ties here! They are deep and abiding. Every day, I try to remind myself of the blessings God has brought us. I am grateful. I am happy.
(Except when the Playbill is due… and the press releases. And the grant proposals. And learning my lines…….. (laughing)
And of course, all the offstage drama of living today. Hard not to let all of that seep into one’s psyche nowadays. But as far as I’m concerned, I want to keep most of my drama alive and well on the stage and in the theater!
For more info, visit Bootsonthegroundtheater.com
