Durang & Chekhov
Is familiarity with the plays of Anton Chekhov necessary for an appreciation of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike? No, decidedly no. Durang's play stands nicely, thank you, on its own.
Does an awareness of Chekhovian references add to our enjoyment of the play? I'd say yes, for sure, if for no other reason than making us aware of general themes that unite all really good works of literature. But there's a bit more here.
So, what exactly is the connection between Christopher and Anton? Both playwrights tend to focus on general themes of longing and discontent expressed through humor, irony, and regret. Durang further emphasizes this nod to Chekhov by explicit plot and character similarities.
Durang's three main characters—the middle-aged siblings Vanya, Sonia, and Masha—are all named for characters in Chekhov's plays:
Vanya and Sonia from Uncle Vanya
Masha from Three Sisters
Even Nina, a secondary character, bears the name of the innocent Nina from The Seagull
And Spike? Well, Spike is pure Durang, but he's Chekhovian in the way that many of Chekhov's males just don't get it
Durang once said in an interview,
"I've always been drawn to Chekhov, but when I was in my 20s and 30s, I did not necessarily empathize with his characters. Now I'm the age of his older characters. And I do." He also remarked, "I live in a country place now and, in Chekhov, people who live in the country are always unhappy and envious of the people who live in the city."
Moreover, the setting is a family farmhouse in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania, far from the city. There's a cherry orchard and a bird frequently spotted in a pond. And family conflicts and tangled relationships threaten the very existence of the ancestral home. All are not-so-hidden references to Chekhov.
Still, Durang is Durang, and his absurdist and, at times, laugh-out-loud humor make the play a delightful, modern take on relationships in a more contemporary setting. However, if this play makes you want to read or see some Chekhov, all the better!
A CRASH COURSE IN Chekhov references
While you don’t have to understand any of the Chekhov references to enjoy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, it might be a good time to check out some of his classics. (You’ll notice some of these ideas, people, and locations pop up in the show!)
The Seagull studies the clash between the older and younger generations. Famous but fading actress Irina returns to her brother’s estate with her lover, Trigorin, a popular fiction writer - both elite Russian artistic community members. During their visit, Irina’s son Treplyov puts on a play about Nina, a romantic ingenue who dreams of a stage career. Soon, all four protagonists entangle themselves in multiple love triangles, including poor schoolteacher Medvedenko and the estate manager’s daughter Masha.
Uncle Vanya portrays the elderly professor Serebryakov’s return to his country estate with his much younger second wife Yeléna. Vanya, the professor’s brother-in-law through Serebryakov’s first wife, Vera, still lives at the estate with Vera’s daughter, Sonya; they both act as caretakers of the estate and are shocked when they learn that the professor plans to sell it to support his new life and wife.
Three Sisters shows the longings of three young provincial sisters. Olga, the matriarchal eldest sister, is a teacher who, at 28, is a spinster. Masha, the 25-year-old artistic middle sister who trained as a concert pianist, is in a loveless marriage to a man she married at age 18. Irina, the youngest sister at age 20, dreams of falling in love in Moscow, where the sisters lived until 11 years ago. In fact, each of the sisters wants to go back to the sophistication of Moscow, where they were happiest. The play starts on Irina’s “name-day,” which also happens to be the anniversary of their father’s death.
In The Cherry Orchard, an aristocratic Russian woman named Lyuba Ranevsky returns to her family’s estate, including a vast and famous cherry orchard. Ranevsky pays one last visit before the estate is auctioned to pay off debts. She has been living in Paris while grieving the deaths of her husband and son, who passed away within a month of each other six years ago. She can’t stop spending, even though she’s deeply in debt. She wavers between wanting to eep the estate and turning down offers to help keep it.