Zhuravleva Olga. Scarlet Sails. Scarlet Sails (musical) Here is a short excerpt from the story

Dedicated to granddaughter Natalya Maslova

Scene in the forest by the stream:
Assol (a girl) walks through the forest with a bag, in her hands a boat with scarlet sails.

Assol:
The wind, my fairy tale friend,
You are affectionate today.

Wind dance in which the wind circles Assol

Wind:
I will fill the sails with joy.
Let the ship sail to others quickly.
Someone will become cleaner and kinder.
I will fill the sails with joy.

Assol to the wind during his dance:

The cheerful wind of a spring day
It takes me away, takes me away.
There is no poverty there, and there is no sadness there...
With a pink reflection the blue distances,

Only - a blue dream from heaven,
The joy of flight and beauty.

Assol on the bank of a stream. Lowers the boat into the water.

Assol:
What a beautiful! Do you want to swim?...
Swim, but just a little.

Sail, swim, my little boat!
Whose toy will you soon become?
Let the stream carry you!
Sail, swim, my little boat!

You have a piece of my soul.
You will recognize the sea surf,
And I will dream about you for a long time.
Sail, swim, my little boat!

Frightened, she runs after a sailing boat.

Oh my god!

A storyteller sits on the bank of a stream (further on is the sea) and examines the boat.
An alarmed Assol runs up;

Storyteller:
Begged for a living boat
Swim a little, a little,
And you felt sorry for him.
The ship set off

Assol: (smiling):
He decided to sneak out to sea.

Storyteller:
What is your name?

Assol:
Assol.

Storyteller:
What a name!

Here is your boat. Please
Take him. With you
I want to talk.
Reveal something secret.
Assol:
You are a wizard?

Storyteller:
May be.
Who made this miracle?
(examines a boat with scarlet sails)

Assol:
My father and I a little.
I'll be selling today.
To the city of Liss is my road.

Storyteller:
Who do you live with?

Assol:
Only with my father.
He is raising me alone.
He's a sailor.

Storyteller:
Where is your home?

Assol:
It's behind the village.
Mom died a long time ago.
Storyteller:
Are you destined to live alone?

Assol nods his head.

Storyteller:
To yourself:

What a pure creature
It's like an angel in the flesh.
And the name is the sound of music.
To me better than a fairy tale can not found.

Etc.
I'm a storyteller. He knew a lot about fairy tales.
And in life I met a fairy tale.

To the side:

Here is the fairy of kindness and light.
The eyes are shining. They contain a question.
Am I dreaming of this miracle?
I am sometimes in captivity of dreams...

Addressing Assol

Storyteller:
Come sit closer to me here.
I am a storyteller, Assol, a poet.
Assol, I see your fate.
Love and happiness flourished in her.

To the side:

Everything about her is strange and unusual.
Unusual for the evil world.

Storyteller: (addressing Assol)

I don't know how many years will pass
You will be a girl, Assol,
A fairy tale will bloom in Kaperna,
And the king of your heart

Here on the white ship
In the glow of scarlet sails,
In the dawn pinkish haze
Suddenly it will come. You will hear the call:

“Assol! Assol! My dream!"
Orchestra! Music! Flowers!
There's already a boat at the shore!
You will recognize him immediately.

A handsome, slender man with sparkling eyes,
With an open, tender soul.
You will see it many times in your dreams
Him, Assol. Wait for your dear call!

What would you do then?

Assol:

Oh, I would love him. Yes!

Storyteller:
(Then repeated several times in a voice off stage), - (voice may be from above)

Don't forget your dream!
Someone stupid and funny
Let her show herself.
Believe, you were born for love,

Don't forget your Dream!
Hold your torch high!

Assol: During the dance of waves and clouds

The clouds fell into the sea,
Made friends with the waves.
The luminaries are caught by their hand,
So that they sparkle rainbowly.

And laughter, and joy, splashes of foam.
I will wait for changes in life.

Village scene:

Assol (a girl) walks and sings dreamily:
Assol:

The fogs beckon, beckon us
To enchanted lands.
The light flows unsteady, gentle,
A little distracted, comforted.

Turned around in a veil
Like a transparent veil.
Where is my fiance? I am a bride.
Is there a place for a wedding in the distance?

For me you are both light and beauty.
You are not here - fog and emptiness.
I’ve been calling for a long time: “Darling, where are you? Where are you?”
Why don't I hear an answer?

I hear a stream whispering,
The touch of soft pine needles.
Ah, fogs, you fogs!
Strange thoughts, strange evening.
Etc.
"Where are you? Where are you?" Flying around the world
I'm waiting for scarlet sails. Answer...

Girlfriends (duet)
First:
Go out and have fun, friend!
After all, youth passes like pink smoke.
What fun with a dear friend!

Second:
Today with one, and tomorrow with another.

Etc. (both together):
Youth is not eternal
So fleeting
She.
Fast waters -
Girlhood years
Spring.

Enjoy your happiness, baby!
Your beauty will fade like a flower
Let's quickly go to the gazebo,
The guys are waiting for us there, there is something to drink.

Etc. (both together):
Youth is not eternal
So fleeting
She.

Fast waters -
Girlhood years
Spring.

Curls are tight -
Tomorrow - gray hair.
Guilt!

Guy 1: He grimaces and sticks out his tongue.

Ship Assol,
Where is your prince? Where is your king?

Guy 2: On the T-shirt there is an inscription: “I love big tits.” Getting in the way

Ship Assol,
Let me take a walk with you.

Guy 3:

Well, why are you walking alone, yes alone:
Spring lights hearts like fires,
The urge beckons her to hug, caress,
Kiss your hot lips.

Give in to the impulse, have fun to your heart's content,
You will find out what love passion means.

Guy 2:

What, princess, shall we drink some grog?
(Tries to hug Assol).
Wow, how touchable!

Guy 1: with a grin

Oh, she's innocent?!
Ha ha ha!!
Who's afraid now
Is there any sin here?

Guys:

Sin, soul, don’t be afraid to fall,
Find out the power of love!
Blushing? My God, girl?!
This can only be a dream.

Is Assol innocent and bashful?
This is a miracle in our time!

Guys with girls:

Sin, soul, don’t be afraid to fall,
Find out the power of love!

Assol runs into the forest.

Assol:
I'm sad and the sadness of the alleys
Consonant with this strange sadness.
My forest, have pity on me,
She entered you with a heart wound.

Bow down your branches
And whisper lines of hope,
Look at me, look at me
Green-eyed pine friend.

In the golden mist
Melts in the pines and maples,
Mystery wanders in green
An unearthly sundress.
Etc.
There's a mystery in the green
Where there are pines and maples.

The outlines will sparkle a little,
And the soul will perk up,
It's like a miracle will touch you.
In the golden mist
Etc.

Scene in the forest:

Assol goes out into the forest in the morning.

The forest welcomes me with open paws
Refreshed, awakened, gentle pines.
And among them - multi-colored bright volleys
The trees have blossomed, and their appearance is not serious -

Like girls in wedding dresses elegant,
They intoxicate with their fragrant breath.

* * *

Wind Dance (Wind with Violin)

Assol:

The wind plays the Rhapsody of Spring.
He turns a new day into sounds.
Waking up, the forest is rustling green,
The delicate pattern beckons with chiaroscuro.

I hear enthusiastic violins
And spring smiles seem to be everywhere.

What you won’t hear in languid bliss.
The wind is blowing. He is homeless.

Dance of Flowers

Assol: Appeal to the forest, flowers.

What do lovers' flowers ring about?
Breath stream into the air?
They hurry, drunk with dew
Sing the green forest world.

A symbol of humility, purity,
My favourite flowers.

sunrise

The sigh of a flower and the trembling of dew drops,
The hours are saturated with silence,
Something secret is hidden behind the long silence,
Waiting for the dawn, goodbye with the Sunrise.

An unblinking eye, afraid to miss a moment,
He looks beyond the horizon, knowing that there will be joy.

He lies down under a tree and falls asleep.

On the shore near the forest, Gray and a sailor with fishing rods.

Sailor:
Our ship is in the roadstead,
And the two of us are on the shore.
Well, thank God, it’s not stormy.
I can fish with you.

The ship is a “Secret”, And you are a secret.
I have never seen anything like this, nope.
Who are you, where are you from? They say -
You are from a wealthy family.

Gray:
I guess I'm glad to tell you
My experiences.

Gray: (story to a sailor in the forest)
I was born a captain
I dreamed of becoming one, so I became one.
Park, trees and fountains,
Our castle, a huge hall,
Where are the family portraits?
And family secrets.

And the parents' dream is
My portrait is in that gallery.
But my dream is not the same -
Sea, masts, tackle, yards,

Wonders of distant lands,
A lot of new impressions,
Storm, sudden thunderstorm
And the rapture of victory.

And the attic is ours! Ah, the attic!
Cobwebs, dampness, mold.
I loved him, how...!
Every hour was interesting.

Knightly decayed trash,
Books, pigeons, stories
And the model standing there
Ship. Fell in love immediately.

I ran away from home
To the sea into the fiery distances,
Which I dreamed about so much
I was a cabin boy, and on the pier,

I once saw
My ship is blue-winged,
Gave it to my mother, burned it
I've been feverish for a long time - I've forgiven you.

That's how I became a captain.
Is this strange?

Sailor:
Very strange.

Sailor (to himself)
I love the captain.
He doesn't look like anyone else.
He is businesslike, does not like lies,
But he's kind of strange.
I love the captain.

Scene in the forest.
Sleeping Assol, dance of fairies, Dream Assol, getting dark:

Fairies:
Warm evening, blue...
The waves rustle hello.
I am alone with the sea and sky.
Silence enters the soul,

Blue light enters the soul -
Something for which there is no name.

Everything is hidden in anticipation
With the great Mystery of meeting.

Assol's soul separates from her body and sings, as Gray watches.
Assol:

Moonboat, lovers...
Milky shimmering way.
Lilac-green paints
Showers - into sleeping mercury.

It's hidden in memory
Love warms my soul.
At night it pops up unexpectedly
The fairy tale is radiant again.

I'll be left alone in the forest
In the night,
How can I collect a fan in my hand?
Rays.

I will not be afraid of any call,
Not a howl
I will illuminate the dark cover,
The path is evil

After all, the rays of the moon are in the hand -
Swords.
The dream sings, the dream flies
In the night.
Chorus
I believe we will live with you
Together.
Love will illuminate a living ray
Our house.
She's waiting for us, she'll save us
Hearts.
It's flying towards us from the heights
Pollen.
Chorus

The soul merges with the body again. The fairies disappear, it gets brighter.
Gray's Delight, Sailor's Surprise,
Putting a ring on the little finger of Assol

Gray:

I catch the touches of spring caresses
The colorful world that sings in the morning
And immerses you in mirages and fairy tales,
Calls a sensitive soul somewhere.

A bud of hope is blooming,
I catch the current of Love from all sides.

Gray and the sailor leave. Assol awakens.
Surprised, smiling, he strokes the ring, kisses it, presses the hand with the ring to his chest, and spins with happiness.

Assol:

Love is trusting and deep,
I am waiting for her. Life is easy with a Dream.

I will cling to you with a warm wave,
I'll sing about love with a bird's trill,
And I will wash with spring water,
I'll spin you like a blizzard like a carousel.

I'll fly with the breeze on a stuffy day,
And I will warm you like the sun in bad weather,
And I will protect you from the heat like a shadow,
I will take all misfortunes away from you.

I will embrace you with the foamy lace of the waves,
I will illuminate your path with starlight,
You will be filled to the brim with me.
I hope this comes true.

Tavern Scene:

Visitor Choir:

Oh, let's party now, let's party!
Let's turn everything around!
Come out, soul, from captivity.
The sea will be knee-deep.

Oh, let's party now, let's party!
We’ll drink everything and everyone now.

Let's throw off the weight of the chain.

Innkeeper: (or 1st visitor)

Eh, drunkards, drunkards!

Rough dance of men and tall women, boys and girls)

Gray comes in with a sailor.

Gray: (addressing the innkeeper)

I met a girl in the forest.
I have never seen such a miracle,
At least I’ve seen a lot of different countries.
The face of a goddess, flexible figure,
And the curl looks like gold.
The scarf looks like it is made from sea water.
And a white dress with flowers,
Wreath of maple leaves.

Someone mockingly:
“Ahh!”

Innkeeper:
That's crazy Assol.

Gray: (stricken)

I ask for more details.

Innkeeper:
Please.

1st visitor (fisherman):

Yes, he lies everything. Assol is healthy.
Like a pure cornflower blue light.
Dreamer. So what.
She doesn't look like anyone here.

2nd visitor (fisherman):

Lives in dreams. Oh, touchy!

1st visitor:

Everyone has their own path.

Beggar:

I heard it myself. I was sitting in the bushes.
I was sober then, not with money.
Turns out empty pockets
I didn’t drink a drop for three days.
Father Assoli said:

“Trust the wizard, daughter,
You are a girl now, Assol.
It is predicted, so wait.
Don't put out the fire in your chest.

That meeting in childhood was not without reason,
If only your soul were pure.
Believe, he will come for you,
Dreamer prince. Will take it with him
And he will take someone else to the kingdom,
Where will you become his wife?

1st guy: (With a grin)
And the fool is still waiting for the prince.
He doesn't swim for a long time.

2nd guy: (Mockingly).
She's a completely different breed.
Where should we go? We are of a simple kind.

3rd guy: (Mockingly).
She is no match for us sinners.
Holy! You see - M-e-h-t-a-a.

1st guy: (With a grin)

Yes, let him dream.
He will recognize his own.

Gray (from the tavern window he sees Assol walking):

Eyes!! Sea light flows!
I haven't seen anything like this. No!
Although... from my beloved mother,
No! This light is unique.

There is an ocean in her blue eyes,
In her blue eyes is the vault of the sky,
In blue eyes - love is not deception,
In the blue eyes of dreams I see takeoff.

In blue eyes there is salvation in bad weather,
In blue eyes there is hope for happiness.

Scene in the forest on the shore, Assol runs to the sea, seeing scarlet sails on the horizon.
Assol's voice:

Like a deer running to streams of water,
My soul rushes to yours,
Brings attention, tenderness,
My love is boundless.

Assol:
Oh, what is this? How the heart beats!
And from the chest, like a bird, it bursts.
Sails on the horizon!
The color is scarlet! Scarlet! Miracles!

Is my dream coming true?
I see what was predicted!

Runs to the sea. Crowd.
From the crowd:
Look! There! Can't be!!
There are no miracles in the world!
Is it a mirage? No! He's sailing
Here to us, brothers, he continues.

Boat in flowers. It's Gray and the orchestra. Assol enters the water, stretching out his hands towards Gray. He jumps out of the boat and picks up Assol, weak with happiness, in his arms.
Assol:
Absolutely like that.

Gray:
I saw you in a dream...
Will you become my beloved wife?

Assol nods, crying with happiness.

Gray:
Your tears fall into my soul,
Pure tears of girlish love,
Sparks of holy destiny,
Blue hope for happiness.
Your tears fall into my soul.

In your palms -
My hand.
She's warm
Love absorbs
And from excitement
Trembling slightly -
Cardiac current
Perceives.

Assol:
In your palms -
My hand...
In your hands -
The fate of a lover.
For a moment of unity
And - for centuries -
One soul
Soul saved.
Chorus
Together:
In the palms of love
Light flows
In the palms of love -
Spring blossoms.
Chorus

* * *
Assol:
Your love's orbit circles.
Bliss is to be in it,
To love yourself, to love openly
And burn, and live more fully,

Igniting with heavenly fire,
Merging into a single candle.

Duet of Gray and Assol:

The lovers' dream became reality -
We are flying to the stars.
Love gave us wings -
Everything is very simple.
Chorus
Let's drink from the star ladle
Heavenly love,
We will ascend with the winds of happiness,
Let's come back with a song
Chorus
Let's warm our neighbors with pure sound,
The warmth of a hug,
With the radiance of radiant joy
And grace.

Gray:
Love wave,
Love string
They give birth to a pure song.
The soul is full
She sings
My radiant love.

Both repeat the chorus

Sailors' dance and song
Sailors at the end:
Wonderful story
Magic novel
To the music of the sea.
Vivat, captain!
The stars of the eyes are shining,
In one - breathing.
The desired hour has come
Two souls merge.

This is the bride!
This is love!
The dream has come true.
Praise her!
Chorus
Dreams come true -
Love found them.
And - tears of joy,
And praise be to Heaven.

Scene. Assol and Gray are sitting hugging each other.

Duet of Assol and Gray:

Silence between us, full of meaning
And love and warmth. We are so sweet together.
I dissolve in you and don’t think at all,
The blue-eyed pond swallowed me up.

Visions flicker in dreams. Your own or others'?
That's when your thoughts sounded in me.
Surprisingly, the truths are very simple.
Let's be silent with the whole Eternity alone.

Our souls are immortal, we feel it.
Forever now together, snuggling, the two of us.
I will tell you, silently, my friend, in confidence:
"I love to dissolve in your silence."

The light slowly goes out, then slowly comes on, Assol and Gray looking old (in white wigs).

Duet of Assol and Gray:

We were silent with you, silent,
Seagulls circled and screamed nearby
About love, impossible, possible.
You kissed his hand carefully.

And the ship rocked at the pier,
And the team was silent, silent,
Seeing two unusual lovers,
As if inspired by the same feeling.

It was in the beginning, in the beginning
The snow has already crowned you and me.

And unearthly love is possible,
If you cherish it carefully.

Don't forget your dream!
Someone stupid and funny
Let her show herself.
But with her your soul is strong!
Hold your torch high!
Don't forget your Dream!

* * *

END

It so happened that during the current season I had the opportunity to watch eight performances based on the story by Alexander Greene “ Scarlet Sails" This happened naturally while traveling around Russia. The collection was replenished, the excitement grew, and now it’s a shame that not all “Scarlet Sails” are “covered.” The number of performances based on story adaptations or musicals by various composers reaches twenty, including in neighboring countries, and this speaks of important processes, taking place in the mysterious depths of the theater. It seemed that this story remained somewhere in Soviet adolescence and modern young people are unlikely to read it of their own free will. (True, in schools it is included in the summer list of books.) But in last years(since 2007) something clearly happened. Green's schooner called "Secret" sailed along all the theater rivers. Great success everywhere! And the secret of “The Secret” has not yet been revealed.

In my collection of ships there are musical performances with music by Maxim Dunaevsky (RAMT, Vologda Youth Theater, Perm Theater-Theater, Novosibirsk “Globe”), a musical extravaganza by composer Faustas Latenas (Samara Drama Theatre), a musical by Valeria Lesovskaya at the Kuzbass Musical Theatre. There is “Pier of Scarlet Dreams” at the Irkutsk Puppet Theater “Aistenok” and dramatic performance“Scarlet Sails” at the Kirov “Theater on Spasskaya”.

Alexander Green's story is loved in our country. But, it seems to me, mostly grown women love her, or rather, not her, but their memories of the time when they also waited. Not everyone, frankly speaking, waited. The male half of the population remembers more the young Anastasia Vertinskaya in the sickly sweet film by Alexander Ptushko. It was a real symbol of a man's dream. No matter who I knew about Green’s story, everyone answered evasively that they had read it once, but they didn’t like it very much. If only she was “very” to them! After all, it describes in detail how a man must work to win a girl he accidentally saw on the shore. How much effort and, importantly, how much money needs to be spent. Not to mention the fact that you need to have at least a decent watercraft on which you can attach the required sails.

What is the reason for the current success of this beautiful fairy tale, written in the hungry twenties in the Petrograd House of Arts? Green was in poverty at that time, having no literary income. The son of an exiled Pole, he was drafted into the Red Army to fight the White Poles (what a grin of fate!) and deserted from there. And everywhere he carried with him a story about a girl who was beckoned by a dream and whom everyone considered crazy.

What did the authors of musicals, plays and dramatizations grasp in our lives, which suddenly needed the romantic, strange, with a touch of gloomy fatalism prose of Alexander Greene? What did they highlight in it, what did they add and what did they leave out? And how do the three musicals differ from each other? (I don’t dare write about music, only about meanings, although I prefer Dunaevsky’s version.)

Scene from the play. Theater "Globus" (Novosibirsk).
Photo by V. Dmitriev

The libretto by M. Bartenev and A. Usachev (music by M. Dunaevsky) does not contain Gray's story. He is left with only a couple of scenes and deep life disappointment. Gray is “unshaven, pretty battered by life” and just the captain of an old schooner. And the sails have to be painted with wine. No two thousand meters of scarlet silk. The authors of the musical tried their best to get away from the story of a young aristocrat with strange fantasies, a family castle and a lot of money. And a real magic ship with scarlet sails appears exclusively in theatrical reality and flies away into the hall. Or into eternity - as the authors of the libretto specify. It really depends on the budget of the performance.

And when I hear after performances: “There’s no Gray, of course,” I want to answer all the disappointed women: “Do you want Gray from Green’s story? So read it or watch an old film with Vasily Lanov.” Of course, all viewers have their own Gray, but certainly not the one invented by Bartenev and Usachev. But they are right. I know a dozen and a half Grays of different ages, and not one of them looks like Lanovoy. And he looks like some of the performers of this role. For example, an intelligent, disappointed in life, tired captain played by Vyacheslav Chuistov (Theater-Theater). Or to the courageous Viktor Kharzhavin (Vologda Youth Theater), who clearly successfully graduated from the Gray River School.

N. Uvarova (Mary). RAMT.
Photo by E. Menshova

Menners Jr.'s line appeared in the musical. And it turned out to be very modern. In at least two performances (out of all the ones I saw) this hero turned into a dramatic figure and clearly close to Assol. His soul also yearns, and he really loves this strange girl. And perhaps he deserves it no less than Gray. And maybe she got excited? Such a dangerous thought crept into my head after the performances of the RAMT, where Menners Jr. was played by Denis Balandin, and the Vologda Youth Theater. In Vologda, the elder Menners was played by Vladimir Bobrov as an ambiguous hero and not so disgusting. A suspicion flashed that he was in love with Mary or at least envious of Longren. Therefore, the younger Menners, in the sharp temperamental performance of Timur Mirgalimov, completely in the spirit of tradition, had to fall in love with her daughter.

A priest appeared in the musical, a not very intelligible and quite functional figure. There is the village of Kaperna, in which the action takes place; this means there must be a priest in it (this is a plot prop). Thanks to the scene with him wavering in his faith, Assol looks stronger and more whole. This scene was staged very beautifully in Perm. Dmitry Vasev in the role of the priest looks almost as strange and lonely as Assol. They are united by despair.

The meeting of Assol and Gray here is almost accidental. It takes place in a night hangout, and it might not have happened if Assol’s faith had not been shaken. After all, she comes to the brothel to earn money to free her father. But one long look from Gray decides everything, and she runs away. Of course, it’s naive and not very clear, but apparently this genre requires simple solutions.

In the text and music, the image of the fishing village of Kaperna is very important, gloomy, hating everything that is not like it, depending on the imperious whims of the sea. Alexander Green, who lived almost his entire life surrounded by such people, knew very well what he was writing about. Not letting anyone stranger into his “brilliant world,” he was somewhat similar to Longren and his daughter. In the story, the image of Kaperna is written with cruel truthfulness and hostility. And in the musical, this important theme for Green is picked up and sharpened.

Scene from the play. Theater-Theater (Perm).
Photo by A. Gushchin

The four performances based on Dunaevsky's music are strikingly different from each other. In RAMT (directed by Alexey Borodin) Assol, performed by Alexandra Rozovskaya, is a savage girl. Disheveled, dressed in something resembling a piece of sail, impetuous, angular. She is good in the beginning, where Assol is a teenager. But she is not very successful in dramatic and lyrical scenes. And she remains a tomboy to the end, whose strange whim is inexplicably fulfilled by an adult man, Gray (Alexander Ragulin). In this performance, Mary played by Nelly Uvarova is very interesting. She is truly of a different blood, there is a strangeness in her that the performer Assoli was unable to play.

In the Perm production by Boris Milgram, Assol first appears as a child (performed by Eva Milgram and Elizaveta Frolova). And this creature from the elf breed imperceptibly and very effectively transforms in the performance of Anna Syrchikova (on “ Golden mask“Irina Maksimkina was nominated, but I didn’t see her) as a girl who is not just steadfast in her faith, but obsessed with this faith. Syrchikova has very good vocals, which are even recognized music critics, and for the hard-of-hearing critic of the dramatic, this is simply a miracle. But, it seems to me, her Assol does not have that airy lightness that should be present in this role. She is too strong and unshakable. She has the firmness of a stubborn girl from the people who will achieve everything on her own.

In the play "Globus" (directed by Nina Chusova) there are also two Assols. The adult Assol (Maria Soboleva) is too ordinary. She is sweet, charming, but there is no inner drama in her, and no one would think of calling her not only crazy, but even strange. However, Chusova, it seems, did not raise this issue.

In the Vologda Youth Theater (directed by Boris Granatov) Assol is alone. Alena Danchenko first played a teenage girl in a vest, capable of standing up for herself, and then the adult Assol. Her heroine seemed to have grown up, but remained a gullible child who is simply impossible to deceive. Danchenko sings well, but she sings (like everyone else in this production) like a good dramatic actress, and this adds charm and warmth to the performance. After all, a musical is a machine, it is technology, and in a musical dramatic performance that does not pretend to be a pure genre, a kind of reckless lightness appears: what was not finished being sung, was being played out.

I won’t talk about the four Grays; the authors left very little space for them. If I were Assolya, I would sail away with Gray from the Vologda Youth Theater. Viktor Kharzhavin doesn’t really like the hit song that reveals a midlife crisis: “That’s it, the dolphins have drowned.” Firstly, because he is a real brave captain, and a young one at that. And secondly, because he is not an aristocrat. After all, God forbid that he should sail away with Green’s Gray: then how can he meet his aesthetic requirements?

But the main thing that distinguishes these four performances is, of course, the director and artist’s view of this whole story, their attitude towards Caperna. All the lines in the performances depend on this.

At RAMT, Stanislav Benediktov built the world of Kaperna from rusty sheets of iron, reminiscent of the side of a ship. Director Alexei Borodin decisively departed (this is just my guess) from his ideas about Green. The world of the village is today’s, evil, dehumanized world, in which people like Longren, Mary and Assol have no place. This space is without colors, gray, black, rusty. With rude people and cruel jokes. Not all viewers make this decision. Everyone certainly wants it to be different on stage than in life. And it is this theater that makes a wise compromise with the audience, a wonderful find when the entire hall is covered with a huge scarlet sail.

A. Danchenko (Assol). Vologda Youth Theater.
Photo from the theater archive

At the Vologda Youth Theater, artist Stepan Zohrabyan and director Boris Granatov followed approximately the same path. On stage they also have a kind of “island of lost ships” (according to the accurate remark of critic Dinara Khusainova). Although, perhaps, Vologda residents do not play crowd scenes where “foam and water” are poured as aggressively as Muscovites, but in Moscow the realities are different. And, perhaps, only in the Vologda performance is such an important, informal role assigned to Egl (Alexander Mezhov), who not only gets in everyone’s way, but very actively ties the threads of fate. You hate him because he entangled the girl with an obvious invention, and you gradually forgive him, because he honestly fulfilled everything he composed. Here Egle is the main provocateur and director of other people's destinies.

And only Vologda residents have such a Longren (performed by Igor Rudinsky), who sings like a good dramatic artist, creating a real musical miniature from the hit “I am the postman of empty bottles,” and performs a lullaby for Assol in such a way that every woman in the audience wants to immediately kiss him together with my daughter. In a word, the world of Kaperna among the Vologda residents is of course unpleasant, as it is written in the musical, but the story of Longren and Assol is shown so tenderly and lyrically that you begin to understand: there are good people everywhere.

A unique case: both the Perm and Novosibirsk performances were nominated for the “Golden Mask” by the music expert council in the musical genre in several categories - it seems that for the first time in the history of the festival the experts gave up and showed wisdom, because the seizure of someone else’s territory drama theaters took on the character of a constant process, rather than single forays. And both productions received national award: Alexey Lyudmilin (Novosibirsk) was awarded the award for best conductor, Boris Milgram received the “Mask” for best director. But how amazingly different these performances are!

At the “Scarlet Sails” of Novosibirsk residents you don’t immediately understand that this is the well-known “Globe”, which at the same “Mask” was also presented in the genre of a dramatic performance small form(“August: Osage County”; Marat Gatsalov received the award for best director). On the stage there is a marvelously beautiful virtual sea. It's magical, scary and very realistic. Just like in Aivazovsky’s paintings. (Whoever saw a huge number of his canvases in the Feodosia museum will understand me.) Artists Anastasia Glebova and Vladimir Martirosov tried to dress up the stage, and the fishermen, and fisherwomen. Caperna in Nina Chusova's play is very pretty, reminiscent of an excellent operetta extra. “Waves,” in contrast to Milgram’s black, sexless and scary figures, are lovely young men and women in delicate pastel clothes. Fishermen and fisherwomen are not some kind of animals, but simply a merry theatrical crowd. No one is anyone's enemy here. Well, they declare Assol crazy, but this is so, popular rumor, which, as you know, is fickle. But then everyone will rejoice together. The general atmosphere of the performance is somehow incredibly festive and theatrical. And the characters speak not like dramatic artists, but like operetta theater artists, in such, you know, special voices. Nevertheless, this spectacle is very high-quality in its own way, although completely devoid of drama.

And Lord, what happened at the Globe performance shown at the Golden Mask! The thousandth hall of the theater named after. N. Sats was packed to capacity, and in the finale the audience just couldn’t sing along with the heroes. The ovation was so long that the half-fainting director of the theater, Tatyana Lyudmilina, seemed to have managed to come to her senses. My colleague Alexander Vislov said that he does not remember such spectator unity at all at a performance at a provincial theater in Moscow, and this also rarely happens at performances in the capital. The dramatic critics were in lonely bewilderment: again the people were not with us. Or we're not with him.

In the Perm performance, the scenography by Victor Shilkrot is an unconditional artistic breakthrough in the musical genre. With the help of constantly moving silver bars, he managed to create an impersonal, formidable force that resembles not only the sea, but the ocean of life in general. This force is cold and not even hostile to humans, but simply frighteningly indifferent. Milgram's fishing village (costume designer Irena Belousova) is disgusting in its expressiveness. I often heard a question from people who had not seen the performance: “Is it true that all the women there have terrible saggy breasts?” Yes its true. However, not all. Unlike the critic tender soul Marina Raikina, who wrote a review in MK about a Permian performance in the genre of an angry rebuke, did not offend me. Fisherwomen Kaperna - strongly acting image, in the spirit of painting by Otto Dix.

But in the performance of the Permians there is a certain coldness and technology. I think it’s because the artists of the Theater have mastered the genre of the musical, in which the precision and fit of all the parts of the machine protects it from failures. The car is capable of arousing admiration for its smooth running, but never warmth and sympathy. Although maybe I don't know enough about cars and musicals.

By the way, when I asked Mikhail Bartenev the incorrect question of which of the performances he liked best, he replied: “Permians sing the best, and play the best in Vologda.” (True, I don’t know if he saw everything then.) Of course, the Vologda Youth Theater does not have such a high budget and such technologies, but art is fully present there.

In Kemerovo musical theater Kuzbass is a completely different story. The musical based on Green's story, written by Valeria Lesovskaya, was staged by Dmitry Vikhretsky (set design by Svetlana Nesterova). The performance clearly showed traces of the struggle between a talented director and a theater with a traditional musical aesthetics. The forces were unequal, and the theater won. It was a traditional performance, with melodic, sweet and forgettable music.

Another thing is important: in this musical (libretto by L. Dremin) the story of Arthur Gray with his lonely childhood, with his mother Lillian, who appears on the screen but seems to be watching him all the time, is given in great detail, with the maid Betsy, the funeral keeper Poldishok and with the sailors from Green's story, which participate in Gray's biography. The crowd scenes are staged perfectly, the sailors are almost like real ones. Gray's youth and development are given in more detail than Assol's story. As in the story, they go on parallel courses towards each other, until Gray’s fatal meeting with the sleeping Assol occurs. Nobody here is interested in the theme of a strange girl immersed in her dream. Assol performed by Kristina Valishevskaya is tender, dreamy, as it should be, but without internal breakdown. Gray (Vyacheslav Sobolev) - a handsome young man, romantic hero in the spirit of DiCaprio. He is not disappointed in anything and is firmly moving towards his goal (even Green’s text, which is perceived here somewhat strangely, is partially preserved) to the delight of all the spectators who have finally seen the real Gray. This couple is completely Hollywood films, and the voices sound very beautiful.

Meanwhile, the performance contains many absurdities and approximations, which are common in musical productions. For some reason, the rural innkeeper Menners (Alexander Khvostenko) appears in a top hat and a black coat and behaves like an infernal creature. Some minor characters so colorful that when they dress up as other characters, you think you're going crazy.

Clearly from children's matinee Fairies, elves and gnomes leaked into the performance and surrounded the sleeping Assol, causing concern for the fate of the defenseless girl, since it was impossible to understand what kind of strange creatures they were. But young Hollywood heroes caused absolute happiness auditorium in the harsh mining town of Novokuznetsk, where I watched this performance.

Scene from the play “Pier of Scarlet Dreams.” Theater "Aistenok" (Irkutsk).
Photo from the theater archive

In Samara academic theater dramas named after M. Gorky's "Scarlet Sails" is staged in an indefinite genre of musical extravaganza. The composer is Faustas Lathenas, well known in the capitals. The author of the dramatization is Eduard Gaidai, director Raimundas Banionis. Artist Sergeyus Botsullo created a marine setting on the stage. An almost real storm is shown here, and the sailors are swinging on all the ropes and yards. But just like in the Kemerovo musical, the authors of this play are not interested in Kapern as a world hostile to Longren and his daughter. A certain sign of it is the image of Menners, who, sitting on iron barrels, obviously full of beer, clearly looks like Adolf Schicklgruber, and this is emphasized even by the paramilitary suit. His lyrics like “I am strong, and that means I am right...” are jarring in their banality.

There are also two Assols here, but the adorable doll is so small that it is too early for her to listen to fairy tales about scarlet sails. (And in general, such girls are not released without adults.) But today's performances are full of poetic conventions, and no one, except harmful critics, perceives this as untrue.

But the adult Assol, performed by Alina Kostyuk, is memorable for her strangeness, pretty alien face and complete doom. A girl with such an intelligent face will not get married here. It is clear. But who was she waiting for? Gray, played by Andrei Belyavsky, is stocky, confident and more reminiscent of a yacht owner than a schooner captain. It doesn't seem like he's coming. I can't remember how it appeared or whether it was under sail. But on the other hand, “they let you board the ship with or without merit,” that is, everyone has the right to happiness. And all the heroes sail to other shores. There is also comedy in this performance married couple, obviously, the aged Assol and her husband. They fight periodically during the action, but are also happy at the end. This performance, I think, does not irritate adults who are vigilantly watching moral education teenagers Marina Raikina, I think, would like him. The puppet theater also did not stay away from “Scarlet Sails”: in the Irkutsk “Aistenka” Yuri Utkin staged Alexander Khromov’s play “The Marina of Scarlet Dreams”. Since the performance was performed with the participation charitable foundation Mikhail Prokhorov, and the condition for assistance was innovative solutions and technologies, then all this is present on stage in huge quantities (performance of the theater’s youth rock group, modern dance, video installations).

In the first act, the story of little Assol is played out with tablet dolls. Eight puppet episodes - wonderful old tale, ending with the death of a seagull torn to pieces by the boys, which the girl could not save. In the second act - Caperna of our days. And there are already living artists acting here. In the same Menners tavern, the artist Marie (Diana Bronnikova) works, who restores the history of Assol in her drawings. Egle became an immortal wizard, and immortality was given to him by Frezi Grant (the heroine of “Running on the Waves”). Egle protects Marie, because she is like a new Assol. Menners made of ancient history commercial project. Every year he holds the “Assol of the Year” competition in Kapern, where the most beautiful girl climbs aboard a ship under scarlet sails, and is greeted by some rock star. No one knows where the girls go after that. But everyone believes that they are sailing away to their happiness. The female competitors are also present. They walk the stage in a fashion show. From the audience we see only the hand of Menners, who is hidden in the box and conducts all the action from there. Over the course of a hundred years, the descendants of the Menners have become even more pragmatic, and this is understandable.

Rock musician Arthur (Roman Zorin) leads to clean water Menners with his project and, having gone through the complex twists and turns of the plot, connects with Marie. Despite the confusion and plot heaps, despite the slow flow of the second act, this performance is incredibly beautiful. He is remembered by pictures like in magic lantern. It is beautiful and black and white drawings Marie, and the entire first act, where the dolls, of course, outplayed all the live actors. And one feels longing for the unfulfilled. Maybe through the air of freedom, or maybe through poetry that has evaporated somewhere. Why the authors of the play needed to look at this story with today’s eyes is understandable. But the second act is so confusing and cumbersome that it is almost impossible to understand the plot moves. The happy ending looks like a happy accident. Maybe the authors of the play wanted this.

Scene from the play. "Theater on Spasskaya" (Kirov).
Photo by S. Brovko

A modern view of this story was also offered by the Kirov Theater on Spasskaya. Director Boris Pavlovich structured the dramatic performance as a collective reading of Green's story. Pieces of text either appear on the screen, then they are acted out by actors, then phrases flutter from one to another, or they completely forget about the text and begin to think not at all about the “scarlet sails”. Pavlovich looked at Green's fairy tale through the eyes of an adult intelligent person. And together with him, the artists look at the story this way and that. Sometimes this is a very ironic look. Assol is an outcast here too. But it happens that a girl is hated because of her beauty and unearthly breed, and sometimes because she is fat and ugly, although dreamy. No one is forbidden to dream. This is Assol, greedily gnawing on an apple and talking with tears about her loneliness. Funny. And tough. Before my eyes, at that moment, a woman with a plump teenage girl left the hall.

The performance contains many confessional monologues by the actors, which sometimes appear appropriately, and sometimes inexplicably, as free associations on a topic. There are several Assols here, and there is a funny moment when Gray puts a ring on the sleeping girl’s finger and immediately all the other Assols raise their little fingers. They sleep, they sleep, but they do not lose their vigilance.

Green's story here, in my opinion, is not the most main story. This is exactly the myth that the theater is trying to understand. The play is a story about adolescence, about the tragedy of life, which is so acutely felt during this period. And when Greene’s story comes into his hands, how does the teenager perceive it? And what remains of her adult life? Resentment that the ship never sailed? The scarlet pages of the book on which Greene’s lines appeared became a beautiful and capacious metaphor. But here’s what’s strange: it’s more interesting to think about this performance than to watch it. Many moments remained literary theater, which was often boring. In addition, in a performance with such a huge amount of text, the actors should speak better.

But still, the Kirov “Sails” made us look at this text not through the prism of youthful memories. I wanted to re-read it. And after re-reading, you understand that Pavlovich is right in many ways, but adult viewers will never agree with his rightness. Therefore, I would advise specifically doing “sessions for adults.” Let them deal with their own problems.

Should we welcome the return of the myth about the scarlet sails, about the girl who waited and waited, about the captain who decided to create a miracle with his own hands? I really don't know. I believe that this story should be read primarily by boys. I would be careful with girls. There are too many offended women sitting on the “Scarlet Sails” and meticulously looking at the captain of the schooner. And they don’t like anyone!

I’m afraid that women of all ages take away the main thing from Green’s story: someone must come for them! Or jump up. Or come. If not under scarlet sails and not on a white horse, then at least in a prestigious foreign car. And no matter how hard theaters try to draw attention to the fact that not all Grays are handsome and not all have floating movable property, modern assols expect the same thing as their mothers and grandmothers. And this myth will never die.

SCRIPT FOR THE PERFORMANCE

"Scarlet Sails"

Scene 1

(The Old Mariner sits in front of the curtain)

Old sailor : Longren, a sailor of a large brig, finally leaves the service. On the day of his return home, he did not see his wife Mary on the threshold greeting him. Instead of her stood an excited neighbor.

Neighbor: I followed her for three months. Look at your daughter, sailor.

Neighbor: Mary died.

(The old sailor sits on a bench, soundssad music reminiscent of a lullaby. Then the old man takes the child away and sits down to whittleboats).

Old sailor : Longren said goodbye to his comrades and took charge. And he began to raise little Assol. In order not to die of hunger and to feed the baby, he made models of boats, cutters, and large ships. And then he offered them to local shops and market traders.

(The baby runs out, falls, the father carefullypicks up her daughter and puts her on her lap).

Assol : Dad, why do all the children in the village have mothers, but I don’t? Where is our mommy?

Longren : Our mother is far away, in a wonderful country - she is a daughter in Paradise. And he looks at you and me from heaven, looks and rejoices - what a beautiful and obedient girl you are growing up.

(Assol, playing, leaves, the sailor continues his work and falls asleep. Assol, a girl, runs out, strokes her father on the head - she feels sorry for him).

Assol : poor thing, tired. Daddy, how I love you! (thinks). But I’ll take it and help you, I’ll take the basket to the merchants myself.

(Takes a basket with ready-made toys, goes to the middle of the stage, plays with boats)

Old sailor : Asso-ol, come to me, baby.

Assol: (scared) Oh, Good morning, grandfather!

Old sailor: Good, good, dear. Where are you heading?

Assol : I want to help my father. Look at these boats.

Old sailor : Yes, your father makes good toys!

Assol : Look, this frigate is the most beautiful (shows a ship with scarlet sails)

Old sailor : I don’t know how many years will pass, but one fairy tale will bloom in our village. You will be big, Assol. One morning in the sea distance, a scarlet sail will sparkle under the sun. The shining bulk of the scarlet sails of the white ship will move, cutting through the waves, straight towards you. Then you will see a brave handsome prince; he will put you on a boat, bring you to the ship, and you will leave forever to a brilliant country where the sun rises and where the stars descend from heaven to congratulate you.

(Assol - a girl in her dreams sings “Littlea country".)

Scene 2

(Market, traders are laying out their goods.The fishermen are bargaining.)

Fisherwoman: Longren and his daughter went completely wild.

Trader: Yes Yes. They have lost their minds, the man over there says - they are waiting for an overseas prince, and even under scarlet sails.

(Assol comes out with a basket and passes by).

Fisherwoman: Look, look, the crazy thing has gone!

Trader: Hey, crazy Assol! Look here, the red sails are sailing.

(Assol rushes towards the sea, with tears onruns away to the old sailor in his eyes).

Old sailor : (addressing Assol) Naive girl, how cruel the crowd can be!

(Dance of fisherwomen and traders. Enters the stageGray with his team, sees a woman sobbing on her shoulderold fisherman Assol. Assol leaves sadly. Gray approaches the old fisherman and asks his).

Gray : You probably know all the residents here. Who was that girl? I'm interested in her name.

Old sailor : Oh, this is Assol.

Gray : Why is she so sad?

Old sailor : This girl lives with a dream that one day, in the distance of the sea, a scarlet sail will sparkle under the sun, and a large ship will move towards her. A brave, handsome prince will take her to a brilliant land.

But human envy and anger completely ruined the poor thing’s life.

(The market disperses. Gray sings “The Wind is Free.”After the song, the boatswain approaches the captain)

Boatswain : What are your orders, cab?

Gray: Team to the ship, and you and I have a very important matter for me .(Leave)

Scene 3

(The deck of a ship is assumed. The sailors are dancing a dance. Gray and the boatswain return, in the hands of the boatswain there is a roll of scarlet silk).

Old sailor : Gray visited three shops, paying special attention to the accuracy of the choice of fabric for the sails, stubbornly choosing the right color and shade.

Gray: I brought red silk, we’ll make sails from it, (dreamingly to the side) I need scarlet sails so that she will notice us from afar .(stunned team) Let's get to work and have everything ready by morning!

Good morning, neighbor.

Was your catch good yesterday?

Look, by the evening the storm will break out, look how the sky turned scarlet!

Brothers! Look!

Papyca! Scarlet!

Like dawn!

Yes, this is a huge frigate!

A ship with scarlet sails!

(Assol jumps onto the stage. Silent scene.The music of hope sounds. The crowd parts. Graygoes to Assol)

Gray: Do you recognize me, Assol?

Assol : Oh, how long I've been waiting for you!

(Gray kneels and puts Assol on his fingerring. He gets up and hugs the girl. They sing a romantic song).

Old sailor : Be happy Gray and Assol. Let the shining bulk of the scarlet sails of the white ship move, cutting through the waves, straight to happiness!

(Final song).

February 10, 2016

Screenplay based on the story by Alexander Green
"Scarlet Sails"

Compiled by: teacher of the highest category E.N. Kinast

Closed curtain. It shows a picture of a ship with scarlet sails.
The introduction features music reminiscent of the sound of the sea.
The curtain opens. In the left corner of the stage there is a table with a candle in an “antique” candlestick, an armchair with a blanket thrown over it. On the table there is a thick book, in which, instead of a bookmark, flowering branch. Silently, placing a finger to his lips (as if calling on the audience to be quiet and listen), the author enters. He sits down in a chair and begins...

And now I'll tell you a story romantic love Assol and Gray.
This is the life story of a girl, Assol, who lost her mother in infancy. Her sailor father raised Assol well, without stopping her from dreaming and believing in miracles. One day a girl met in the forest an old man, a collector of fairy tales, Egle, who either jokingly or seriously told her that when she grew up, a prince would come for her on a ship with scarlet sails.
E g l The mass of scarlet sails of the white ship will move, cutting through the waves, straight towards you. (include video No. 1) This wonderful ship will sail quietly, many people will gather on the shore. The ship will approach majestically to the very shore to the sounds of beautiful music; elegant, in carpets, in gold and flowers, a fast boat will sail from him. - “Why did you come? Who are you looking for?" - people on the shore will ask. Then you will see a brave handsome prince; he will stand and stretch out his hands to you. - “Hello, Assol! – he will say. “I saw you in a dream and came to take you away forever.” You will live in a brilliant country where the sun rises and where the stars descend from the sky to congratulate you on your arrival.
And s o l Assol believed and began to wait... More than once, worried and timid, I went to Coast, where, having waited for dawn, she quite seriously looked out for a ship with Scarlet Sails. These minutes were happiness for me; It is difficult for you to escape into a fairy tale; it would be no less difficult for me to escape its power and charm.
And the author One day Assol told this story to a beggar, he, in turn, told it in a tavern. Since then, residents began to laugh at her.
As the years passed, Assol matured. One day, early in the morning, a ship moored to the shore where Assol lived. Its owner and captain was Arthur Gray, a noble and courageous young man.
Together with his friend, Gray decided to go into the city. On the shore, near a large and spreading tree, he saw a sleeping girl. Gray squatted down, looking into the girl's face: she was beautiful. Then Gray, carefully so as not to wake her, put the ring on her finger. Assol continued to be in the grip of sleep. And Gray quietly left. After a while, Assol woke up, Gray’s radiant ring glittered on her finger.

Whose joke is this? Whose joke? – she quickly cried. - Am I dreaming? Maybe I found it and forgot? I cannot explain what happened, but a strange feeling takes over me.
And so, by chance, as people who can read and write say, Gray and Assol found each other in the morning summer day, full of inevitability. The young man, meanwhile, decided to ask one of the local residents about her.
Gray You, of course, know all the inhabitants here, I am interested in the name of a young girl in a white dress, aged from seventeen to twenty years. I met her not far from here. What is her name?
TOWNSHIP This must be Assol, there is no one else.
And then Gray was told about how seven years ago a girl spoke on the seashore with the song collector Egl.
Now he acted decisively and calmly, knowing down to the last detail everything that lay ahead on the way. His plan came together instantly.
Gray Assol will definitely see a ship with scarlet sails.
And then Gray bought 2000 meters of scarlet silk and after a while a ship with scarlet sails went to sea.
Gray Now, when my sails are red and the wind is good, I come to the one who is waiting and can only wait for me, but I don’t want anyone else but her, maybe precisely because thanks to her I understood one simple truth . It is to do so-called miracles with your own hands: when a billionaire gives a villa to a poor man, and a jockey at least once holds his horse for another horse who is unlucky, then everyone will understand how pleasant it is, how inexpressibly wonderful. But there are no less miracles: a smile, fun, forgiveness, and the right word spoken at the right time. To own this is to own everything.
And then a ship with scarlet sails appeared on the horizon, and Assol saw it. Soft music flowed from the white deck under the fire of scarlet silk (video No. 2).
And with salt Not remembering how I left the house, I was already running to the sea, caught by the irresistible wind of the event; at the first corner she stopped almost exhausted; my legs were giving way, my breathing was faltering and extinguishing, my consciousness was hanging on by a thread. Beside myself with fear of losing my will, I stamped my foot and recovered.
I saw a boat full of tanned oarsmen detach from the ship; among them stood someone whom, as it seemed to me now, I knew, vaguely remembered from childhood. He looked at me with a smile that warmed and hurried me.
Gray Assol closed her eyes; then, quickly opening her eyes, she boldly smiled at my shining face and, out of breath, said:
A s o l Absolutely like that.
G R E And you too. Here I come. Do you recognize me?
And the author Everything was a dream, where the light and water swayed, swirling, like the play of sunbeams on a wall streaming with rays.
Again Assol closed her eyes, afraid that all this would disappear if she looked. Gray took her hands. The girl's eyes finally opened clearly. They had all the best of a person.
" Friends! Believe in miracles with all your heart, and they will definitely come true!”

"Assol" in Lugansk "Assol" in Irkutsk

P. Morozov

ASSOL.

"...And now these three remain: faith, hope, love; but love is the greatest of these."
The first letter to the Corinthians of St. Paul the Apostle

Musical extravaganza

Characters:
Assol
Longren
Aigle
Mom Assol
Gray
Hin Menners
Myra Menners
Louise Menners
Greta Menners
Maid
Chester
Phil
Volume

-------------------
Scene 1

Assol appears with a basket in which toy boats and ships are guessed. She follows a long-familiar route through the forest.

Assol - Hello, my glorious forest! Hello its glorious inhabitants! Hey, how are you, Mr. Hazelnut? Are you not as lonely today as you were yesterday? Look how many beetles have come to feast on your nuts! Aunt Linden, how is your precious health? Don't get sick and don't stand in a draft! Otherwise we’ll have to solder you with linden decoction again! Oh, maestro ash! Today you look
simply wonderful!
Hello, grandfather yew! Greetings from my Longren! He asked me to tell you that the toy ships from your branch, the same one that was broken by the wind last week, are much stronger than the pine ones. There is no need for gratitude - I love and respect you too! See you!

Assol runs out into the clearing.

What a miracle it is - spring! What a miracle these trees are! What a miracle these flowers are!

Starts spinning and singing:

I agree with maples -
Acacia in gold
late spring!
You open your eyes -
You see, the candles are red
There are pine needles in soft paws!
Dizziness,
And exhaustion
In the aroma of fir!
The forest began to move
Herbs, flowers fermentation -
Emerald whirlwind!
Greta and Louise appear.

Scene 2
Assol, Greta and Louise

Greta – Crazy Assol
At night he gnaws on beans!
Louise - (echoes) Crazy Assol
At night he gnaws on beans!”

Assol silently picks up the basket from the ground.

Greta - And Longren, Assoli's father,
I ate three pounds of salt in a day!
Louise - And Longren, Assol's father,
I ate three pounds of salt in a day!

Asol slowly leaves.

Louise - Listen, is she really nibbling on dry beans?
Greta - Well, yes, that's what everyone says!
Louise - So, haven’t you thought of cooking it yet?
Greta - That’s why she’s crazy! (laugh) And her father: he’s a monster. Khin said terrible things about him.
Louise - Tell me...
Greta - Imagine, old Longren prints counterfeit money at night and throws it into the sea.
Louise - Really?
Greta - So much for “come on”! And once Red Ida saw him eating a drowned man on the seashore!
Louise - Horrible!
Greta - What am I talking about?
Louise - So that's why he eats three pounds of salt...
Greta is a Witcher, in a word. He doesn’t talk to anyone, doesn’t invite anyone to visit. Clearly, he's hiding something.
Louise - So maybe she too...
Greta - What, that?
Louise - Well, that's it, witch?
Greta - Maybe she too... Let's go home, out of harm's way.

Scene 3
Assol and Longren

Assol - The Menners sisters teased me again and threw pieces of dirt at me. And in the morning Red Ida shouted unpleasant words at me
words. Tell me why they don't like us?
Longren - Eh, Assol, do they really know how to love? You have to be able to love, but that’s something they can’t do.
Assol - Father, I’ve never asked you, but today I’ll ask you: how did your mother die?
Longren - That's when you asked... You know, Assol, I always protected you from these conversations.
Assol - I know. And yet - how?
Longren - Well, as you know. You really have grown up, since you wanted to know everything... That year I was very late on my flight, and
Mary has completely run out of money. She went to Harry Manners to pawn wedding ring. The neighbor tried to dissuade her, she was going to
storm. But Mary still went... Further... Menners refused. He said that he would give money if she... If she... In general, he began
pester. Mary pushed him away and rushed away. On her way home, she was caught in a terrible downpour and immediately fell ill. The neighbor was
next to her, but could not help.
Assol - And Menners?
Longren - What about Menners? One day, when a storm broke out, he did not have time to tie the boat to the pile. He fiddled around for so long that he lost time and began to wear it down. I saw it all. He began to scream and throw me a rope, but... I couldn’t overcome myself and help him. I stood, smoked... smoked and watched his boat drift into the open ocean. I could still hear him asking me for help. And then I will shout to him: “Remember Mary? She also asked you, Harry Manners!” I made a black toy then, Assol.
Assol - Did you love your mother very much?
Longren - Did I love? I'm not very good at these conversations, Assol. How can I say this... She was the meaning of my life. And when she was gone, I had nothing to live on earth for. But, thank God, she left you to me. Now you are the meaning of my life.
Perhaps this is love.

Scene 4
Phil, Chester, Tom, Damsel, Myra Manners

There is a lively conversation in the tavern, interrupted by the wooden clatter of clinking mugs, the slapping of cards and the exclamations of the players.
The girl makes eyes at all the players in turn, but they chronically do not notice her.

Chester - Myra! More wine!
Phil - I'll have a beer so I can crack!
Tom - Damn, I blew it again! Phil, let's do it one more time! I'm betting on this icon. There's half a gram of gold on it!
Phil - You're lying, I guess. Worry!
Tom - May I die!
Phil - Okay, I'll pass!
Chester - Tell me, Tom, how did you manage to get married?
Tom - Marry? Well... I caught her by the skirt when she wanted to jump out of the window from me.
Chester - And I found my wife in a tavern.
Tom - How is that?
Chester - Yes! Came back from the first voyage and went on a spree at the tavern. Yes, he went on such a spree that when he came to his senses, he was already married and had
two children.
Tom - Had a blast!
Chester - Strong. Which doesn’t happen when you’re young!.. Since then I’ve been escaping from my wife - either at sea or in a tavern. And there are already five children. AND
where do they come from?
Tom - Phil, when are you getting married? Or are you waiting for a fair wind? Look what girls have grown up to replace our wives!
Chester - Hey, he messed up the deck! Scoundrel!
Phil - Hold your tongue!
Tom - Yes, for that, you know what happens!

The table turns over and a fight breaks out. Girls squeal with pleasure, men fight with pleasure. Only Myra Menners calmly and busily counts every broken chair and every broken bottle. Finally, she gets tired of it. She takes a gun from under the counter and fires upward.

Everyone freezes.

Myra Menners – Tonight was a great success! Tomorrow everyone will have something to remember!

The situation is relaxed, everyone is laughing.

Myra Manners - Get started, Phil!

Phil starts the song and they follow it with pleasure.

If there is no light in life,
But there's a coin in my pocket
Come to the tavern and see the girls,
Drink and have fun.
After all, both women and men
Gin brings people together best.
If your soul is sad,
Drink a glass of beer.
And then a couple of mugs
Share with a crowd of girlfriends.
It's not for nothing that good ale
He throws strangers' wives into drunkenness.
And when the wife started eating,
Even if it’s for business,
Try to hit her in the eye
Even if he gives back.
The fight will end well
If you have rum in your stash.
If today is a day off -
Let's drink one at a time, brothers.
Drink and sing!
And give it to the girls.
It's not for nothing good God
He created grog for our joy.

The song develops into a riotous tavern dance.

Scene 5
Greta and Louise.

Louise - Well, we didn’t sell roses for the third time. They are completely wilted. Mother will kill us.
Greta - It won’t kill you. We are already adults.
Louise - What to do with them now. They will completely wither.
Greta - They won’t wither. The mother adds head tablets to the water - they will sit in the basin overnight and by morning they will be as good as new.
Louise - These ones are nothing at all. Let's throw it away.
Greta - What else? What did mother say? Don't throw anything away! Hand over the limp petals to her personally!
Louise - Why does she need them?
Greta - Does the demon know her? Something is getting dark. Maybe she decided to take a steam bath with pink petals!
Louise - You can imagine it too!
Greta - Think of a better one.
Louise - And I’ll come up with an idea!
Greta - The thought box will break!
LOUISE - It'll break!
Greta - Don't contradict your sister!
LOUISE - Don’t resist it yourself!
Greta - I'm older than you!
LOUISE - Oh-oh-oh! Just half an hour or more!
Greta - Are you in trouble again?
LOUISE - You're going to get yourself into trouble!
Greta is a juvenile otter!
LOUISE - I hear it from a young girl!

Song of GRETTA and LOUISE

Greta - You snore like a horse at night,
LOUISE - And you kick your feet in your sleep!
Greta - How are you?
LOUISE - There is no meaner person in the world!
Greta - And you have acne on your neck!
LOUISE - Like you!
Greta - You don't brush your teeth in the morning!
LOUISE - And your lips are like threads!
Greta - You're lying!
LOUISE - You can't beat your price!
Greta - But you can’t count in your head!
LOUISE - What a louse!
Greta - You don't hang out with guys!
LOUISE - And you're slurping cabbage soup with a bast shoe!
Aren't all your girlfriends
they call you fat behind your back?
Greta - Am I the fucking fat one?
Look at you, pillow!
LOUISE - If you call me names -
You can be left without hair!
Greta - Oh, right?!
LOUISE - Yes, yes!!!
Greta - How is this so?
LOUISE - Yes... that's it...

They look at each other and suddenly burst out laughing.

Greta - Come on!
LOUISE - It's you who give!
Greta - Lips are like threads!
LOUISE - Like a horse... into a pillow!
Greta - Laptem - cabbage soup... Oh, I can’t...
The laughter dies down.
Louise - I’ve been wanting to ask you for a long time, do you like Frank?
Greta - Which one is this? Son of Red Ida?
Louise - He's the one.
Greta - Why do you like it here, you idiot is an idiot.
Louise - Well, I wouldn't say that...
Greta - What are you doing? Come on, come on... Why were we running our eyes? Fell in love, or what?
Louise - Me? What more!
Greta - Why did you ask?
Louise - Just like that.
Greta - Just like that? Okay, not small, lay it out. Are you in love with him or what?
Louise - Okay, just be quiet! Otherwise, my mother will find out - I’ll have Frank with butter.
Greta – Don’t be tormented, tell me!
Louise - Do you remember the last time in the tavern, when the bald Margot gave her husband a black eye, and Frank to her brother
came to ours?
Greta - Well?
Louise - Well, well! When he left, he winked at me and patted me with his hand.
Greta - On the shoulder?
Louise - That's the thing, no. (in a proud whisper) Lower back.
Greta - Come on!?
Louise - So that I don’t get married! He spanked me so hard.
Greta - Do you think this is love?
Louise - I think so! Why would it be him?
Greta - Well, yes... Your time has come, sister. Serious things are starting. Well, then what?
Louise - Well, how do I know “what”? I haven’t seen him since then!
Greta - Maybe it's not love.
Louise - What then?
Greta – (laughs) Maybe he gave you a friendly pat. Or chased away a mosquito.
Louise - Fuck you! You'll turn everything into laughter!

Scene 6

Assol on the ocean. In his hands is not a basket of toys. She places the basket on the sand.

Assol - Well, hello, miracle of nature! Hello Great Ocean! Today you are calmer. Not like yesterday. Yesterday you looked either like a fury or a rude, uncouth drunkard. He scattered all the boats around the harbor and tore the fishermen's nets. Well, where is this good? Don’t sigh, I know you’re not feeling yourself today. You are violent, but easy-going. And you want understanding. What kind of understanding is there if you changed your color for three days, warning that there would be a storm, and they paid zero attention. You have already driven the luminous fish to the shore, and picked up empty bottles from the bottom, but no one is paying attention. So it turns out that it’s not really your fault. So, don’t try to change your character too much, I like you just like that – predictable and unpredictable, violent in a storm and gentle in a calm, warm and affectionate while swimming. Uh... I'm chatting with you for some reason! We must run. Don’t grumble, don’t grumble!.. I’ll come again - how can you be without me. Just don't be too rowdy here in my absence! Farewell, miracle of nature!

Louise and Greta appear.

Greta - Hey, crazy girl, if you want to get hit in the forehead with a stone, stand still, but if you don’t want to, fly out of here like a fly!
Assol shudders, picks up the basket, and leaves silently.
Louise - Wow!
Greta - Why stand on ceremony with her? Let him know that he needs to run away from me! Whoever didn’t hide is not my fault! Learn, sister, while I'm alive!

Greta dashingly throws a stone after the departed Assol. Louise, repeating her sister's actions, coyly throws a smaller stone. Both laugh.

Scene 7
Louise, Greta and Myra Menners

Greta - Well, how are your amorous affairs with Frank going?
Louise - With whom?
Greta - Well, there you go, sister! With Frank, who... (slaps himself below the back).
Louise - Ah... This... Fuck him! I’m around him this way and that – and he’s either drinking beer with the sailors or playing cards. I'm in his mug too
poured more water, and picked up the card that had fallen from the floor... And he...
Greta - And him?
Louise - And he, like a seal, just cooes.
Greta - You should have winked at him yourself.
Louise - I winked. And he told me: why are you staring, you fool, your eyes will fall out on the floor! Better bring some beer.
Greta - I see. It wasn't love.
Louise - Probably. Listen, Greta, how do you like Phil?
Greta - I don't know. If it's a glass of rum, but you can...
Louise - Come on!
Greta - What, has a crush on Phil? Well, tell me – is it fuse?
Louise - Well, I'm hooked.
Greta - Well done. Just don't get arrogant. Don’t put your finger in my mouth either - I’m visiting Tom Lately I looked closely. Just as his wife ran away with a traveling salesman, he doesn’t leave the tavern at all. He drinks away so much money that I even started to like him.
Louise - Aren't you too, sister?
Greta - Otherwise! Yesterday I winked at him when he passed by the back room.
Louise - And him?
Greta - Is he? Well, of course, he pressed me against the wall, and my bones cracked.
Louise - What about you? Got lost?
Greta - (proudly) You can fight me off. Now he follows me like a dog on a leash. Yesterday I even treated you to a glass of sunflower seeds...
Louise - Wow... Do you think this is love?
Greta - What else? We know love! Remember, sister, you don’t just throw away glasses of sunflower seeds.

Myra Menners comes out. She hears last words Greta.

Myra Menners - (raises) I'm about to hit both of them - all at once the nonsense will fly out of their heads along with their brains!
Greta - Take it easy, Mommy!
Louise - (instantly changes the topic) Mom, did you love dad?
Myra Menners - (as if she hit a wall) What?!
Greta – She loved our Father, she asks?
Myra Menners - How dare you? What do you think you are? Yes I…
Louise - You just never think about him. What was he like?
Myra Menners - What was he like? He was... he was... so... so... he was too businesslike. All the time in business, in worries. I didn't really see him. Yes! I loved him in the first days... in the first years of our marriage... (sobs, but comes to his senses) Stop sharpening your lasses: run to the pier with flowers - the evening festivities are in full swing! And don’t worry, we need to sell these damn roses before they completely die!
Greta - You said that by morning they will be as good as new!
Myra Menners – New does not mean alive. Run to the pier - and smile, smile, shoot more with your eyes, towards the couples
roll up in lyrical moments: “Buy a flower, buy a rose for your one and only, your betrothed”! Ugh! And not
These calf tendernesses make them sick.

........................

........................