Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike Ben Brantley of "The New York Times" described the play as a "sunny new play about gloomy people". Patrick Healy of "The New York Times" described it as a "black comedy about unhappy siblings". According to Robin Pogrebin of "The New York Times", "The play sets characters and themes from Chekhov in present day Bucks County, PA." The characters Vanya, Sonia and Masha are middle-aged siblings named after Chekhov characters. Their deceased parents were "college professors who dabbled in community theater". The character names are borrowed from Chekhov plays. Vanya is the protagonist in "Uncle Vanya" and Sonia is his
Uncle Vanya leaves to ask the professor if Yelena may play the piano. Sonya returns with his negative answer, which quickly dampens the mood. Vanya, Sonya, and Yelena are in the living room, having been called there by Serebryakov. Vanya calls Yelena a water nymph and urges her, once again, to break free. Sonya complains to Yelena that she has loved Astrov for six years but that, because she is not beautiful, he doesn’t notice her. Yelena volunteers to question Astrov and find out if he’s in love with Sonya. Sonya is pleased, but before agreeing she wonders whether uncertainty is better