Christopher Durang, Tony-Winning Playwright of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Dies at 75

Christopher Durang, the Pulitzer Prize finalist and Tony-winning playwright of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, known for his darkly humorous treatment of taboo subjects, died at his home in Pipersville, PA in Bucks County on April 2. Durang’s husband, John Augustine, said the playwright died peacefully as a result of complications from logopenic primary progressive aphasia. Durang was 75.

Durang was born in Montclair, New Jersey in 1949. Growing up in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, he became enamored of theater as young as 7, regularly seeing Broadway shows as well as productions at Paper Mill Playhouse. He wrote his first play, inspired by an episode of I Love Lucy, aged 8.

He received a B.A. in English from Harvard College and an M.F.A. in playwriting from Yale School of Drama. While at Yale, he met the actress Sigourney Weaver, who was cast in Durang’s first play as a Yale student, Darryl & Carol & Kenny & Jenny. The two subsequently became close friends and regular collaborators.

Durang received a Tony nomination for his book for the 1978 musical A History of the American Film, for which he also wrote lyrics to music by Mel Marvin, but came to prominence with his play Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, which won him the Obie Award for Best Playwright in 1980. Through works such as The Nature and Purpose of the Universe (1975), Beyond Therapy (1981), Baby with the Bathwater (1983), The Marriage of Bette and Boo (1985) and Laughing Wild (1987), he became known for a blend of farce, satire and absurd comedy that touched on serious topics such as religion, sexuality and family.

"There was a lot of sadness in my family so theoretically I could also have written sad, sad dramas," he explained on his website, "but I just wasn’t drawn to it. I like to laugh."

Durang was also a performer, starring in productions of his own work including Laughing Wild, The Marriage of Bette and Boo and the Brecht-Weill parody Das Lusitania Songspiel, co-starring with Weaver who also co-wrote. For the latter, both were nominated for Drama Desk Awards for Best Performer in a Musical. In 1993, Durang sang in the off-Broadway Sondheim revue Putting It Together, which also starred Julie Andrews, at Manhattan Theatre Club.

Durang was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his black comedy Miss Witherspoon (2006) and won the 2013 Tony Award for his Chekhovian riff, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which starred Weaver and David Hyde Pierce. Of performing Durang’s work, Weaver said at the time, “It demands everything of you: physically, mentally, emotionally,” describing Durang himself as “a great truth sayer.”

Partners since 1986, Durang married the actor-playwright John Augustine in 2014. In 2016, Durang was diagnosed with logopenic progressive aphasia, which primarily impedes the ability to process language. His condition was publicly announced in 2022, by which time Durang had withdrawn from public life.