Nord-Ost

After the incredibly difficult "The Snow Maiden" and before the no less difficult "The Enchanted Island" we decided to "take a rest" by repeating "Nord-Ost". Generally speaking, given that we stage one production a year, there is no point in repeating ourselves; but for "Nord-Ost" an exception was made. First, in the seven years that had passed, the membership of our theatre had changed. Second, E. Litinskaya's idea was interesting: to emphasise the austere setting of those years with black walls and to use projected photographs to mark the changing scenes. And most importantly, we wanted to plunge once again into the wonderful music and witty text, into the atmosphere of joy and optimism ("... We will make it happen!").

Some of the costumes were reused from the 2009 "Nord-Ost"; the rest had to be made in keeping with the new artistic concept, which the costume team led by E. Litinskaya and I. Neduva did beautifully.
For a while there were problems recruiting the children's cast. The role of little Sanya was to go to Gosha Vetushko and Nikita Sadovnikov, who had proved themselves excellently in "Les Misérables" and in "An Ordinary Miracle". But six months before the show their voices began to break, and for that reason they were dropped from the list of candidates. Several children were found right away: Alyosha Buynitsky (a pupil of I. Sadovnikova), Anya Milman (a pupil of M. Nikiforova), and Michelle Kotlyar — our former Cosette. Then, after a long search, we found two wonderful boys at once.

One of them, Fedya Chaika, who played the role of little Valka Zhukov, when Ira asked him to sing some song from a Russian cartoon (they had only recently moved to the USA), muttered:

"I don't know any of them."
"Well, sing a different song!"
"I don't know any of them."
"Then what can you sing?"
"Mozart. The 'Lacrimosa'."
And he sang it, a cappella, for which he was nicknamed "Fedya-Lacrimosa".

After auditioning the other one, Ira promised him that the children's rehearsals would not be frequent and would be held separately from the adults' rehearsals, so as "... not to torment small children." To which the ten-year-old boy replied: "Well, I'm ready to suffer a little," and was immediately christened "Valik the Martyr". An amazing boy: he was one of the few who for several months literally "lived" the show, looked after his props and costumes, made sensible remarks, played all thirteen performances flawlessly, and in the end begged for a piece of the schooner's side with the inscription "St. Maria" as a keepsake. They say it hangs in a frame above his bed.

In the real musical a full-size airplane lands on stage. In ours the airplane was only "suggested" by two spotlights with propeller blades spinning in front of them, but the bow of a sailing schooner "floated" onto the stage, inspiring unfailing delight in the audience and encouraging the tired actors for the final chorus. The enjoyment of the show was complete and long-lasting. Who knows, perhaps it is worth stepping into the same river a third time?