Moscow in the 1920s was known as a theatrical mecca. The words were originally uttered by Anatoly Lunacharsky, the first Soviet education commissar, but he was not just limbering up his penchant for phrase-making.
With the Moscow Art Theater, the Meyerhold Theater and Alexander Tairov's Kamerny Theater attracting global attention, Moscow could rightfully brag of being the seat of theatrical innovation. That kind of leadership flagged over the ensuing years, although Moscow has almost always had one or two pacesetting venues, the kind of place that sums up the state of the art, and to which people could look to catch a glimpse of the future.
In 1995 there is no such theater, nor has there been for some time. Whether that is a sign of the tumultuous, fragmented times, or whether it is a sign of the de-officialization that has pluralized the face of post-Soviet Russian culture, it is a fact that no single Moscow theater today is a standard bearer.
That doesn't mean, however, that nothing of interest is going on. In fact, Moscow is full of new theatrical ideas and experiments. You just have to know where to find them.
The most consistent house in town these days is the Mossoviet. Under the quiet leadership of artistic director Pavel Khomsky, 70, it has worked out an effective policy of mixing showy, undemanding crowd-pleasers on its main stage, often staged by Khomsky himself, with an impressive array of unusual shows on its small, fourth-floor stage "beneath the roof" -- usually mounted by one of the theater's young directors.
In recent years, this space has rendered a string of critically-acclaimed, well-attended shows, the most recent being this season's provocative revival of Alexei Arbuzov's "My Poor Marat."
Furthermore, the Mossoviet has a group of talented young actors coming up through the ranks, suggesting that its future is bright indeed.
The fastest rising reputation probably belongs to the Satirikon, a theater that has existed in one form or another since 1939. Until 1987 it was run as a miniature and vaudeville house by the fantastically popular satirical actor, Arkady Raikin. When he died in 1987, he was succeeded as artistic director by his son, Konstantin, who had already made his name as an actor, and who since has proved an able administrator.
Konstantin Raikin's first shrewd move was to tamper with success, rejecting his father's trademark genre of comic skits in favor of traditional drama. That produced some notable results over the next few years, but few could have predicted the sharp upturn that would occur in 1994.
That is when Raikin, now 45, turned to Pyotr Fomenko, whom many call Moscow's best director, inviting him to stage Fernand Crommelynck's "The Magnificent Cuckold" at the Satirikon. The result, with Raikin playing the lead, was a stunning show that gained world-wide recognition.
Rather than rest on his laurels, Raikin next brought in another top director, Valery Fokin, to stage what would become one of this year's top shows: a dramatization of Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," again starring Raikin. Like "The Magnificent Cuckold" before it, "Metamorphosis" took the Crystal Turandot award for best show, giving the Satirikon back-to-back triumphs.
At the award ceremonies, the grinning, gap-toothed Raikin joked that he has gotten used to winning and that he would be perfectly happy were the Satirikon to become the perennial best show recipient. With the kind of track record he is establishing, it would seem foolish to bet against him.
The Hermitage, another house with a strong reputation, is structured fully in the mold of the theaters that have historically been Moscow's most influential. A so-called "author's" theater, its every manifestation bears the distinct stamp of its heart, soul and mastermind, the artistic director Mikhail Levitin, 51.
Since taking over in 1988, Levitin -- who is also a Booker Prize-nominated novelist -- has run an eclectic, uneven and occasionally spectacular theater. His unchanging style is a modern, theatrical interpretation of the unorthodox Oberiu literary movement from the 1920s, often popularly described as a Russian version of the absurdist movement, and he freely applies it to material ranging from Moliere to Lewis Carroll.
His most perfected works -- still running in repertory -- have been productions of Yury Olesha's "The Beggar, or the Death of Zand" (1987), and "An Evening in a Madhouse" (1988), based on the writings of several authors, while this season's "Goodbye, Deadmen!" was an impressive and typically uncommon interpretation of "Maria," a forgotten, unfinished play by the short-story master Isaac Babel. But whatever the show, there is always at the Hermitage a lively, intriguing air of iconoclasm and irreverence.
There are several directors whose presence on a marquee is an almost certain guarantee of quality, beginning with the previously-mentioned Pyotr Fomenko and Valery Fokin. Joining them on a single plane of excellence and accomplishment is Kama Ginkas, who usually works out of the Theater Yunogo Zritelya. Ginkas in recent years has worked more in Europe than in Moscow, although his probing, challenging production of "K.I. from 'Crime'" this season won him heaps of praise, as well as the best director Crystal Turandot.
Among the younger, 30 to 40-year-old generation, several names undeniably speak of vision and individuality, even if their product can be irregular. They include Sergei Artsibashev, whose own Theater Na Pokrovke has produced a series of fascinating reworkings of Russian classics, and Sergei Zhenovach, whose slow, meticulous productions at the Theater Na Maloi Bronnoi have been controversial but noteworthy.
Every bit their equal are Alexei Levinsky, who has quietly given a distinct personality to the Yermolova International Theater Center since taking it over a few years ago, and Vladimir Mashkov, probably best known as Russia's top movie star. However, Mashkov's work as a director for the Tabakov Theater -- including this season's sensational "Deadly Number" -- has shown him to be a man of multiple talents.
Whether or not Moscow is on the verge of becoming a world-wide theatrical mecca again is uncertain. But let there be no doubt: its tradition of innovation and quality is alive and well.
Third in a series of four articles. Next week: the small stage boom.
With the Moscow Art Theater, the Meyerhold Theater and Alexander Tairov's Kamerny Theater attracting global attention, Moscow could rightfully brag of being the seat of theatrical innovation. That kind of leadership flagged over the ensuing years, although Moscow has almost always had one or two pacesetting venues, the kind of place that sums up the state of the art, and to which people could look to catch a glimpse of the future.
In 1995 there is no such theater, nor has there been for some time. Whether that is a sign of the tumultuous, fragmented times, or whether it is a sign of the de-officialization that has pluralized the face of post-Soviet Russian culture, it is a fact that no single Moscow theater today is a standard bearer.
That doesn't mean, however, that nothing of interest is going on. In fact, Moscow is full of new theatrical ideas and experiments. You just have to know where to find them.
The most consistent house in town these days is the Mossoviet. Under the quiet leadership of artistic director Pavel Khomsky, 70, it has worked out an effective policy of mixing showy, undemanding crowd-pleasers on its main stage, often staged by Khomsky himself, with an impressive array of unusual shows on its small, fourth-floor stage "beneath the roof" -- usually mounted by one of the theater's young directors.
In recent years, this space has rendered a string of critically-acclaimed, well-attended shows, the most recent being this season's provocative revival of Alexei Arbuzov's "My Poor Marat."
Furthermore, the Mossoviet has a group of talented young actors coming up through the ranks, suggesting that its future is bright indeed.
The fastest rising reputation probably belongs to the Satirikon, a theater that has existed in one form or another since 1939. Until 1987 it was run as a miniature and vaudeville house by the fantastically popular satirical actor, Arkady Raikin. When he died in 1987, he was succeeded as artistic director by his son, Konstantin, who had already made his name as an actor, and who since has proved an able administrator.
Konstantin Raikin's first shrewd move was to tamper with success, rejecting his father's trademark genre of comic skits in favor of traditional drama. That produced some notable results over the next few years, but few could have predicted the sharp upturn that would occur in 1994.
That is when Raikin, now 45, turned to Pyotr Fomenko, whom many call Moscow's best director, inviting him to stage Fernand Crommelynck's "The Magnificent Cuckold" at the Satirikon. The result, with Raikin playing the lead, was a stunning show that gained world-wide recognition.
Rather than rest on his laurels, Raikin next brought in another top director, Valery Fokin, to stage what would become one of this year's top shows: a dramatization of Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis," again starring Raikin. Like "The Magnificent Cuckold" before it, "Metamorphosis" took the Crystal Turandot award for best show, giving the Satirikon back-to-back triumphs.
At the award ceremonies, the grinning, gap-toothed Raikin joked that he has gotten used to winning and that he would be perfectly happy were the Satirikon to become the perennial best show recipient. With the kind of track record he is establishing, it would seem foolish to bet against him.
The Hermitage, another house with a strong reputation, is structured fully in the mold of the theaters that have historically been Moscow's most influential. A so-called "author's" theater, its every manifestation bears the distinct stamp of its heart, soul and mastermind, the artistic director Mikhail Levitin, 51.
Since taking over in 1988, Levitin -- who is also a Booker Prize-nominated novelist -- has run an eclectic, uneven and occasionally spectacular theater. His unchanging style is a modern, theatrical interpretation of the unorthodox Oberiu literary movement from the 1920s, often popularly described as a Russian version of the absurdist movement, and he freely applies it to material ranging from Moliere to Lewis Carroll.
His most perfected works -- still running in repertory -- have been productions of Yury Olesha's "The Beggar, or the Death of Zand" (1987), and "An Evening in a Madhouse" (1988), based on the writings of several authors, while this season's "Goodbye, Deadmen!" was an impressive and typically uncommon interpretation of "Maria," a forgotten, unfinished play by the short-story master Isaac Babel. But whatever the show, there is always at the Hermitage a lively, intriguing air of iconoclasm and irreverence.
There are several directors whose presence on a marquee is an almost certain guarantee of quality, beginning with the previously-mentioned Pyotr Fomenko and Valery Fokin. Joining them on a single plane of excellence and accomplishment is Kama Ginkas, who usually works out of the Theater Yunogo Zritelya. Ginkas in recent years has worked more in Europe than in Moscow, although his probing, challenging production of "K.I. from 'Crime'" this season won him heaps of praise, as well as the best director Crystal Turandot.
Among the younger, 30 to 40-year-old generation, several names undeniably speak of vision and individuality, even if their product can be irregular. They include Sergei Artsibashev, whose own Theater Na Pokrovke has produced a series of fascinating reworkings of Russian classics, and Sergei Zhenovach, whose slow, meticulous productions at the Theater Na Maloi Bronnoi have been controversial but noteworthy.
Every bit their equal are Alexei Levinsky, who has quietly given a distinct personality to the Yermolova International Theater Center since taking it over a few years ago, and Vladimir Mashkov, probably best known as Russia's top movie star. However, Mashkov's work as a director for the Tabakov Theater -- including this season's sensational "Deadly Number" -- has shown him to be a man of multiple talents.
Whether or not Moscow is on the verge of becoming a world-wide theatrical mecca again is uncertain. But let there be no doubt: its tradition of innovation and quality is alive and well.
Third in a series of four articles. Next week: the small stage boom.
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