There’s a fictional fixer-upper Pennsylvania-German fieldstone farmhouse in Bucks County where a family drama folds forth like laundry day.

The house is OK. It’s those inside who need the repairs.

The family wash normally is done within the confines of an “if walls could talk” home. This being the play, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” washing one’s dirty laundry is very much a public act. The walls don’t talk, but the characters inside prattle on with litanies of self-pity, hubris and world-view negativity. “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” is a comedy of manners, albeit ill manners. It’s got all the fixings.

Recriminations, judgment and maneuvering by three siblings, and three associated characters, lay the foundation for Christopher Durang’s play, “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” which takes place in 2012 in a Bucks farmhouse. Humor coats the barbs in the dialogue and the characters’ reactions like a sweet and spicy dill pickle relish.

Act 1 Performing Arts DeSales University has mounted an entertaining and successful production of “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” through Oct. 5, Main Stage, Labuda Center for the Arts, Center Valley. The Sept. 26 performance was seen for this review.

“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” premiered in 2012 at the McCarter Theatre, Princeton, N.J., moved off-Broadway, and on to Broadway, receiving a Tony Award for Best Play in 2013.

Durang played Vanya opposite Marilu Henner as Masha in “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” in 2014 at Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope. This reviewer attended a performance of that production.

Durang (1949 - 2024) resided in Pipersvlle, Bucks County, about 21 miles or 30 minutes via Route 412 and Route 611 from the DeSales’ Center Valley, Upper Saucon Township, campus. Indulging in spectral speculation, Durang would have been mightily impressed with the Act 1 production, and especially the performances of the young actors.

The play’s plot concerns the pithy plight of two unemployed siblings who live in a Bucks County farmhouse, owned and underwritten by Marsha, a successful actress.

Marsha, with her boyfriend Spike in tow, visits the house to attend a neighbor’s costume party. The farmhouse housekeeper, Cassandra, makes dire forecasts. A neighbor, an aspiring actress, drops by.

The play, inspired by characters and plots from the classic plays (“The Seagull,” “Uncle Vanya,” “Three Sisters,” “The Cherry Orchard”) of Russian playwright Anton Chekov (1860-1904) takes a turn for the sit-com.

The comedy is sensitively directed by Megan Bellwoar. She handles the material tenderly, but, where required, fiercely, eliciting a range of tortured emotions with great comedic timing by the ensemble cast inevitably leading to guffaws, chuckles and out-loud laughter.

Ryan Plunkett brings a Charlie Brown woe-is-me downcast presence to the role of Vanya with a hapless distractibility, shuffling gate and timid good cheer.

The adopted sibling Sonia is given a sentimental vulnerability and crying at a moment’s slight notice in a lovely performance by Harley Roach.

Hilarity ensues when India Profitt is on stage as soothsayer maid Cassandra, with an aggressive body language that more than lives up to the mythology of the character’s name.

Nicolette Keddie as Masha sails across the scenes on waves of emotional turbulence with a self-confidence iron-clad, convincing and inspired.

Xander Charles is great fun as Spike who runs around, including in one of the theater’s aisles, with a clueless aplomb as robust as his six-pack physique.

Sophia Twohig brings an unassuming charm that sneaks up on you not unlike the character of Nina who she charmingly portrays.

The impressive farmhouse interior is by Scenic Designer Andrew Mannion, augmented by Lighting Designer Eric T. Haugen Costume Designer Asaki Kuruma gives Masha lovely ensembles and the rest of the cast attire appropriate to their stations in life. Original Music and Sound Design by Mark Bennett undergirds the show’s whimsy.

The challenge of actors breathing life into “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” cannot be underestimated. Their achievement is quite remarkable. The play can be recommended for fans of Christopher Durang, Act 1 and Chekov.

“Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” 7:30 p.m. Sept. 25, 26, 27, Oct. 1, 2, 3, 4; 2 p.m. Sept. 28, Oct. 5; 9:45 a.m. Sept. 29. DeSales Act 1 Theatre, Main Stage Theatre, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley. 610-282-3192; https://www.desales.edu