The Philadelphia Theatre Company is presenting “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” the Tony Award-winning comedy by openly gay Bucks County playwright Christopher Durang, through April 20 at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre.
The story follows the titular characters — siblings Vanya, who is gay, and his sister Sonia — who have never left the confines of their childhood home in Bucks County, while their sister, Masha, has been traveling the world as a successful movie star. A surprise visit from Masha and her young stud of a boyfriend, Spike, throws all of their lives into comedic and emotional chaos.
Durang named the main characters based on characters from the stories of Anton Chekhov and used some of the famed author’s themes in the play. But he said one doesn’t have to be well-read in classic literature to appreciate the humor.
“I did my best to write it and enjoy it without knowing Chekhov. It’s about three siblings in their 50s and one is a movie star and she has a young boy toy, which is unusual for her because she’s been through five marriages. So this is a new thing for her to have a young man. None of that is connected to Chekhov,” Durang said. “Their parents were professors and they love Chekhov so they named their children using Chekhov names. So it was very hard for them in school because everyone made fun of their names. I was inspired by some of the themes of Chekhov but other than that, people will be able to enjoy it without knowing his work.”
“The sensibility is absolutely 21st-century,” Kraig Swartz, who plays Vanya, added. “The humor is really irreverent. There might be one or two references to Chekhov that are even funnier if you know, but you don’t have to have read a Chekhov play to enjoy this play.”
The character of Vanya, who is somewhat of a peacemaker between his other siblings for most of the play, has his world shaken up by the presence of Spike.
“Vanya is an openly gay man but he’s also a WASP and kind of emotionally shut down,” Swartz said. “He hasn’t had any opportunity for a long time to express that part of himself. He also from an American culture that is famous for not talking about their feelings. Of course there is this perfect specimen of a man walking around in his underwear for half the play. It’s disturbing and reawakening to Vanya. When you have built your life around repression and then someone shows up who won’t allow you to be repressed anymore, it’s very disconcerting and hilarity ensues.”
Durang said his version of Vanya was inspired by people he has known in his own life.
“My initial inspiration in writing this play was, I suddenly realized I was the age of the older Chekhov characters,” he said. “One of the other things that struck me is I crossed paths with someone I went to college with and he’s been married for many, many years. I learned that he came out when he was 55 and his wife was very furious at him and his daughters were more forgiving. I remember thinking to myself that I felt lucky that I did not fight the fact that I was gay and not wait until I was 55.”
Philadelphia Theatre Company presents “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike” March 21-April 20 at Suzanne Roberts Theatre, 480 S. Broad St. For more information or tickets, call 215-985-0420.