Pushkin Moscow Drama Theatre

Moscow Drama Theatre named after A.S. Pushkin is located on Tversky Boulevard, in house No. 23. The earliest information about this building dates back to the time of Catherine II, to 1779, when the privy councillor Prince I.A. Vyazemsky sold the courtyard with a house in the parish of the Church of John the Theologian for 3300 rubles to Brigadier A.S. Dmitrieva-Mamonova. In the description it was called “stone old chambers”. Its length on the facade was much shorter than it is now. Subsequent owners - Major General I.F. Dmitriev-Mamonov, then Colonel P.A. Kologrivov and Vyrubov - rebuilt the house, expanding it. In the middle of the XIX century, in the spirit of eclecticism, its facade was processed. At the beginning of the XX century, the house was bought by a real state councillor Portnov, the first floor he rented to the cyclist club (then called cyclists) and a musical and dramatic circle, the second floor - a private gymnasium. In 1911, the house was acquired by the Parshina brothers, who, according to some sources, began to rent it for apartments, and according to others, placed accounting courses and a military presence in it. In 1914, the young director A.Y. Tairov was looking for a room for his theater. This is how the actress Alice Koonen recalled it: “... My attention even before attracted one mansion with a beautiful black door. The house seemed deserted and mysterious. There was no light in the windows at night. Tairov looked around the mansion and agreed that there was something in it. And here is the words of the director himself: "Four halls, going in an enfilade, are not suitable to make a theater ..." Breaking them is sinful. But it is possible to attach to them a small auditorium and stage. The building itself is simply designed for the theatre.” The owners agreed to carry out the required restructuring, and in May 1914, construction work began on the project of architect N. Morozov. On December 12 of the same year, the theater, called Chamber, opened with the play of Kalidasa’s ancient Indian drama Sakuntala. However, obstacles suddenly arose. The church authorities objected to the fact that a theater would be located in the immediate vicinity of the Church of John the Theologian. The matter was settled with great difficulty. In the 30s, the question of the reconstruction of the theater building was again raised. The original project was proposed by the artist and architect Georgy Golts. The building was supposed to combine the old premises of the Chamber Theater with the new one. The annex housed an auditorium for 900 seats, spectator and stage rooms, and the old part was transformed into a studio school. They shared a common foyer museum. Tairov saw the Goltz project, but the question of restructuring was postponed, and then completely quieted down. In the 30s, the theater was slightly changed. According to the projects of architects K. Melnikov and the Stenberg brothers, the facade was given a simple and modest look. In 1949, the Chamber Theatre was closed for “aesthetics and formalism.” The theater was reorganized, and since 1950 it became known as the Pushkin Moscow Drama Theatre. The last changes to the building were in 1980, when the Alexander Era enfilade was restored, the modeling and painting were restored. Now these halls are called Pushkin. 1950 – the year of birth of the A.S. Pushkin Drama Theater. Its first artistic director was appointed People's Artist of the USSR Vasily Vasilyevich Vanin. A talented and purposeful man, Vanin, with all his enthusiasm and perseverance, began to build his own theater. In a year he managed to produce five performances. The play for children “Scarlet Flower” according to Aksakov’s fairy tale, is still going with constant success. On the new stage, Vanin played his last role - Rasplyueva in "Krechinsky's Wedding". From 1952 to 1953, the post of chief director of the theater is occupied by People's Artist of the USSR Boris Alexandrovich Babochkin. The play “Shadows” by Saltykov-Shchedrin, staged by A.D. Dikym, in which the role of Klaverov was played by Babochkin, and the role of Bobyrev by B.A. Smirnov, was hesitant to release censorship for a long time. Commission after commission in this sharp and brilliant performance saw not the “cursed past”, but too vivid and recognizable present. From 1953 to 1960, the theater was led by People's Artist of the USSR Mikhail Iosifovich Tumanov. An event in the theatrical life of Moscow was the performance of M. Knebel “Ivanov”, in which B. A. Smirnov tragically and ruthlessly played the role of Ivanov. In the performances of Tumanov "Maria Tudor", "Trees die standing up", "Trace", were occupied by such legends as F.G. Ranevskaya, O.A. Wicklandt, B.P. Chirkov, N.V. Petrov, M.N. Nazvanov, a charming actress, one of the most beautiful women of her time M.M. Kuznetsova. In 1960, the People’s Artist of Russia Boris Ivanovich Ravenskikh came to the theater. His name is associated with the era of high romance in the history of the theater. Fanatically devoted to art, Ravenskikh was an ardent artist and an absolutely free man. His theater – bright, plastic, passionate – is impossible to imagine without music. For him, it was as if there were no conventions of the Soviet system, a gray everyday turnover. Ravensky loved to show a man at the moment of the highest tension of all his spiritual strength. “Romagnola” by L. Skuratsin, “Virgin Raised” by M. Sholokhov, “Days of Our Life” by L. Andreev, “Dramatic Song” by N. Ostrovsky. In his performances, the works of such stage masters as L.O. Gritsenko, L.A. Skopina, Y.I. Averin, L.S. Antonyuk, A.I. Kochetkov, honored artists of the RSFSR S.K. Bubnov, N.K. Prokopovich, S.A. Bobrov sparkled. His name is associated with the discovery of talent T. Lyakina, Y. Gorobets, L. Markov, V. Nosik, A. Loktev, V. Alentova, N. Popova, N. Marushina, R. Vildan. From 1971 to 1978, the theater was led by the People's Artist of the RSFSR Boris Nikolaevich Tolmazov, and from 1979 - Alexei Yakovlevich Govorukho. From 1982 to 1987, the main director was Boris Alexandrovich Morozov. Performances by Tolmazov “The Fate of Man” by M. Sholokhov, “The Last Days” by M. Bulgakov, performances by Govorukho “Robbers” by F. Schiller, “The Slaves” by A. Ostrovsky, “The Optimistic Tragedy” by V. Vishnevsky, in which such masters as S. played. Miseri and A. Porokhovshchikov, performances staged by Morozov: “The Moon in the window” by R. Fedenev by M. Bulgakov and “I am a woman” by V. Merezhko determined the face of the Pushkin Theater. From 1987 to 2000, the theater was headed by People's Artist of the RSFSR Yuri Ivanovich Eremin. The burning sincerity of his productions is always addressed to people. Often it transforms the usual theatrical space, and the audience is directly involved in the orbit of theatrical action. The real cultural shock was his “Chamber No. 6”, one of the most popular performances of the late 80s. There were also “Black monk” by A. P. Chekhov, “scum” by Y. Glovatsky, “Demons” by the play Camus, “Obsessives”, “Erik XIV” Strindberg, “The Ivanov Family” by A. Platonov. In April 2001, the artistic director of the Pushkin Theatre became Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Roman Efimovich Kozak. Its main policy is to invite high-level directors. On the big stage will put venerable directors, and on the small stage – young ones. The branch should become a testing ground for experiments, trial and error. And on the big stage you have to try to make a theatrical event. With Stars and Famous Directors (from an interview, News Time, October 15, 2001). Among the invited directors are Vladimir Ageev, Kirill Serebrennikov, Vladimir Petrov, Yuri Urnov, Vasily Senin, negotiations are underway with St. Petersburgers - Grigory Kozlov, Yuri Butusov, Grigory Dityatkovsky.