Uncle Vanya is the second of Chekhov’s major plays, published in 1897 and first performed by the Moscow Art Theatre in 1899.  An elderly retired professor and his beautiful young wife Yelena pay a visit to the family estate that supports their lifestyle and is managed by Vanya, the brother of his late first wife, and Sonya, his daughter by his first wife.  Also on hand are Astrov, the local doctor; Maria, mother of Vanya and the professor’s first wife; Telegin, a tenant; Marina, an old nurse; and an unnamed workman. The visit reveals long simmering resentments and discontents as well as unrequited desires that build during the play’s four acts. Vanya and Astrov yearn for Yelena, while Sonya pines for Astrov. Things come to a head when the professor proposes to sell the estate, which would dislocate the residents, prompting Vanya to pursue the professor with a pistol. The professor backs down, he and his wife pack up and leave, and life returns to its heavy humdrum patterns.  The play has been a staple in the modern theatre and has been adapted for film several times, most recently by David Mamet in 1996 as August.