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Uncle Vanya (Schreck)

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  4w, 5m

Translated and Adapted by Heidi Schreck, from Anton Chekhov

A hit on Broadway starring Steve Carell, Heidi Schreck’s gorgeous, contemporary translation of Chekhov’s enduring masterpiece is refreshingly funny, deeply moving and strikingly immediate.

Uncle Vanya (Schreck)

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    4w, 5m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Adaptation (Stage & Screen)
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Uncle Vanya (Schreck)

Details

Summary

Sonia and her uncle, Vanya, have devoted their lives to managing the family farm in isolation, but when her celebrated, ailing father and his charismatic wife move in, their lives are upended. In the heat of the summer, the wrong people fall in love, desires and resentments erupt, and the family is forced to reckon with the ghosts of their unlived lives. This strikingly immediate translation pairs Chekhov’s enduring masterpiece with one of America’s most celebrated contemporary playwrights.

History

Heidi Schreck’s adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya premiered on Broadway at Lincoln Center Theater’s Vivian Beaumont Theater on 24 April 2024. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, the production featured Steve Carell, Jonathan Hadary, Jayne Houdyshell, William Jackson Harper, Spencer Donovan Jones, Mia Katigbak, Alfred Molina, Alison Pill and Anika Noni Rose.

Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
ALEXANDER – A retired professor
ELENA – His wife
SONIA – His daughter by his first marriage
MARIA – A local politician’s widow and mother of the professor’s first wife
VANYA – Her son
ASTROV – A doctor
WAFFLES – A family friend
MARINA – Sonya’s childhood nanny
NEIGHBOR – A local kid
  • Time Period Contemporary
  • Setting

    The family’s country estate, a working farm.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol

Media

“Breathtaking… Heidi Schreck’s gorgeous, colloquial translation… is heartbreaking and profound.” – Variety

“Sleek, lucid… Heidi Schreck’s smooth, faithful yet colloquial new version… offers a hundred things to enjoy… a lovely evening in the theater.” – The New York Times

“Timeless… Schreck, author of What the Constitution Means to Me, spent time as a teacher and journalist in St Petersburg, and has a clear grasp on the spirit of Chekhov’s material. This translation sounds as natural to the present day as about anything else on Broadway… Schreck’s translation… add[s] a distinctly contemporary current of irony to everyone’s growing crises of purpose.” – The Guardian

“Breathtaking… shimmers with beauty, mirth, and, at least for the audience, hope. Despite the terrible state of things, art is still able to lift us up, take us out of our misery, and move us… with Heidi Schreck’s gorgeous, colloquial translation… the play is as entertaining as it is heartbreaking and profound.” – Variety

“An especially accessible adaptation… There’s a painfully obvious prescience to the Anton Chekhov-penned play, even 125 years after it was first staged. In fact, the tragicomedy grappling with wasted lives and the inevitable decline of the natural world is pushed to further relatability thanks to a lean and contemporary translation from Heidi Schreck.” – Entertainment Weekly

Videos

  • Uncle Vanya – LCT Teaser Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Uncle Vanya – LCT Teaser Trailer

  • Uncle Vanya – LCT Opening Night youtube thumbnail

    Uncle Vanya – LCT Opening Night

  • What is Uncle Vanya about? – Lincoln Center Theater Cast youtube thumbnail

    What is Uncle Vanya about? – Lincoln Center Theater Cast

  • Uncle Vanya at Lincoln Center Theatre – Montage youtube thumbnail

    Uncle Vanya at Lincoln Center Theatre – Montage

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Heidi Schreck

Heidi Schreck
Heidi Schreck is a writer and performer living in Brooklyn. Her critically-acclaimed play What the Constitution Means to Me played an extended, sold-out run on Broadway in 2019 and was nominated for two Tony Awards. A filmed version of the play premiered on Amazon Prime Video ...
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Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) was a Russian playwright and author. He is considered to be one of the greatest writers of short fiction in history. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his best short stories are held in high esteem. Chekhov practiced as a medical ...

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