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An ordinary miracle. Read the book An Ordinary Miracle About the book “An Ordinary Miracle” Evgeniy Shvarts

The power of love is great. This is repeatedly mentioned in literature so that people remember and are ready to meet it halfway. Love is magical in many ways. This is the power that can change everything. And at the same time, love is such a simple and natural feeling, almost ordinary. And the title of Evgeniy Schwartz’s play “An Ordinary Miracle” conveys this idea well. This play has become one of the most famous in the writer’s work; everyday life and fairy tales are intertwined in it. The writer talks about love, about the human soul and about humanity in general, showing all this through experiences and feelings. At the same time, it cannot be said that the play is overly romanticized; there is room for both irony and the harsh truth of life.

Readers will learn the story of an unusual young man who used to be a Bear. The wizard turned him into a human, but at the same time did not give him the opportunity to be happy. Once the girl falls in love with the Bear and kisses him, he will become a beast again. And one day the Princess falls in love with him, but the Bear is afraid that her kiss will change everything. These two will have to go through trials, overcome their fears, before they understand the power of love. True love can work miracles and conquer everything.

The play is not only about the love of the Princess and the Bear. The author shows the wizard's love for his wife, who admires her in the same way as many years ago. The King's love for his daughter is shown. And it is this feeling that transforms him from a tyrant and tyrant into a good dad. The whole play is imbued with love, it leaves a pleasant impression and will be interesting to both adults and children.

On our website you can download the book “An Ordinary Miracle” by Evgeniy Lvovich Schwartz for free and without registration in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format, read the book online or buy the book in the online store.

Evgeny Schwartz

An ordinary miracle

characters

Princess

Minister-Administrator

First Minister

Court lady

Innkeeper

Hunter's Apprentice

a man appears in front of the curtain and speaks quietly and thoughtfully to the audience:

– “An Ordinary Miracle” – what a strange name! If a miracle means something extraordinary! And if it’s ordinary, then it’s not a miracle.

The answer is that we are talking about love. A boy and a girl fall in love with each other - which is common. They quarrel – which is also not uncommon. They almost die of love. And finally the strength of their feeling reaches such a height that it begins to work real miracles - which is both surprising and ordinary.

You can talk about love and sing songs, but we will tell a fairy tale about it.

In a fairy tale, the ordinary and the miraculous are very conveniently placed side by side and are easily understood if you look at the fairy tale as a fairy tale. As in childhood. Don't look for hidden meaning in it. A fairy tale is told not in order to hide, but in order to reveal, to say with all your might, out loud what you think.

Among the characters in our fairy tale, who are closer to the “ordinary” ones, you will recognize people whom you meet quite often. For example, the king. You can easily recognize in him an ordinary apartment despot, a frail tyrant who deftly knows how to explain his outrages by considerations of principle. Or dystrophy of the heart muscle. Or psychasthenia. Or even heredity. In the fairy tale, he is made a king so that his character traits reach their natural limit. You will also recognize the minister-administrator, the dashing supplier. And an honored figure in hunting. And some others.

But the heroes of the fairy tale, who are closer to the “miracle”, are devoid of the everyday features of today. Such are the wizard, and his wife, and the princess, and the bear.

How do such different people get along in one fairy tale? And it's very simple. Just like in life.

And our fairy tale begins simply. One wizard got married, settled down and started farming. But no matter how you feed the wizard, he is always drawn to miracles, transformations and amazing adventures. And so he got involved in the love story of those very young people I spoke about at the beginning. And everything got confused, mixed up - and finally unraveled so unexpectedly that the wizard himself, accustomed to miracles, clasped his hands in surprise.

It all ended in grief for the lovers or in happiness - you will find out at the very end of the fairy tale.

disappears

Act one

estate in the Carpathian Mountains | large room, sparkling clean | on the hearth there is a dazzlingly sparkling copper coffee pot | a bearded man, huge in height, broad-shouldered, sweeps the room and talks to himself at the top of his voice | this is the owner of the estate

Master

Like this! That's great! I work and work, as befits an owner, everyone will look and praise, everything with me is like that of other people. I don’t sing, I don’t dance, I don’t tumble like a wild animal. The owner of an excellent estate in the mountains cannot roar like a bison, no, no! I work without any liberties... Ah!

listens, covers his face with his hands

She goes! She! She! Her steps... I’ve been married for fifteen years, and I’m still in love with my wife, like a boy, honestly! It's coming! She!

giggles shyly

What a trifle, my heart is beating so hard it even hurts... Hello, wife!

the hostess enters, still a young, very attractive woman

Hello wife, hello! It’s been a long time since we parted, just an hour ago, but I’m happy for you, as if we haven’t seen each other for a year, that’s how I love you...

gets scared

What happened to you? Who dared to offend you?

Mistress

Master

Are you kidding! Oh, I'm rude! Poor woman, standing there so sad, shaking her head... What a disaster! What have I, damned one, done?

Mistress

Master

Well, where is there to think... Speak, don’t be tormented...

Mistress

What did you do this morning in the chicken coop?

Master (laughs)

So it’s me who loves!

Mistress

Thank you for such love. I open the chicken coop, and suddenly - hello! All my chickens have four legs...

Master

Well, what's offensive about that?

Mistress

And the chicken has a mustache like a soldier.

Master

Mistress

Who promised to improve? Who promised to live like everyone else?

Master

Well, dear, well, dear, well, forgive me! What can you do... After all, I’m a wizard!

Mistress

You never know!

Master

The morning was cheerful, the sky was clear, there was nowhere to put any energy, it was so good. I wanted to fool around...

Mistress

Well, I would do something useful for the economy. They brought sand over there to sprinkle the paths. I would take it and turn it into sugar.

Master

Well, what a prank this is!

Mistress

Or he would turn those stones that were piled near the barn into cheese.

Master

Not funny!

Mistress

Well, what should I do with you? I fight, I fight, and you are still the same wild hunter, mountain wizard, crazy bearded man!

Master

I'm trying!

Mistress

So everything is going nicely, like with people, and suddenly there’s a bang - thunder, lightning, miracles, transformations, fairy tales, all sorts of legends... Poor thing...

kisses him

Well, go, dear!

Master

Mistress

To the chicken coop.

Master

Mistress

Fix what you did there.

Master

Mistress

Oh please!

Master

I can not. You yourself know how things are in the world. Sometimes you mess up, and then you fix everything. And sometimes there’s a click and there’s no turning back! I already beat these chickens with a magic wand, and curled them with a whirlwind, and struck them with lightning seven times - all in vain! This means that what has been done here cannot be corrected.

Evgeny Schwartz. Chronicle of the life of Binevich Evgeniy Mikhailovich

"An Ordinary Miracle"

While Evgeny Lvovich was ill, his favorite artist Erast Garin attempted to stage “The Bear” at the Film Actor’s Studio Theater...

Back in 1953, the play interested G. A. Tovstonogov, then still the chief director of the Leningrad Theater. Lenin Komsomol. He called the author and said that he liked the first act, liked the second less and did not like the third at all. Except for a few scenes. He asked to listen to his thoughts at any time and in any place, when and where it was more convenient for Schwartz - at home or in the theater. “I listened to the words of an interested person, really interested, who wanted to stage the play like music...” Evgeniy Lvovich wrote down on December 25.

The performance did not take place then. There is not a word in Schwartz’s diary entries whether there was a meeting between them, or why Georgy Alexandrovich did not stage the play. He did not mention this in his letters either.

A little more than a year passed, and Erast Pavlovich Garin took up the production of “The Bear”. The theater management did not like the play, but the director and actors decided to rehearse it anyway. That is, at your own peril and risk. And the risk paid off.

And on June 16, 1955, Garin informs the author: “Dear Evgeny Lvovich! I didn’t want to write to you until today. I was afraid. I thought I wouldn’t pass the exam I asked for. Now I'm writing. This afternoon I showed the artistic council, management and the curious about Act One and a Half of Your Bear. The performance (I call it that because there were actors, mise-en-scène, lighting, costumes, although amateurish, but sometimes expressive) was enthusiastically received.

The board and management decided to give me, as they now say, a “green light.” Well, I don’t know about the street and its color, but I know that rehearsals will continue from Saturday, and all work on the play will move forward. Obviously, they will enter into legal relations with you, because, I think, no other theater will be able to get ahead of us.

We showed the entire first act and the second up to and including the appearance of the court lady with Emil. The discussion proceeded, as they say, at the highest level. They celebrated acting successes, etc.

All rehearsals went on in great excitement. The performance has put together its own bear team, very nice and hardworking. If it weren’t for the theater’s vacation, I would have finished in a month, but the theater goes on vacation at the end of the month. Now we pose the question of not allowing bears on vacation...

Wish you happiness. Say hello to Katerina Ivanovna. Khasya sends greetings, and we are very sorry that we could not read your Don Quixote. He was here with Kozintsevsky director Shostak. Erast."

Khesya is the wife of E.P. Garin, director Khesya Aleksandrovna Lokshina.

And again - at the end of summer: “Hello, dear you are our wizard Evgeniy Lvovich and dear hostess Katerina Ivanovna. I hasten to tell you something pleasant: yesterday I received permission from Lithuania. Now everything in the theater will be on a legal basis. True, everything was going fine before that. The first act has already gone to the workshops, but the second and third were nice in the drawings, but when the model was made, it seemed rough. As of today, the second act has already been redone and makes a good impression. I think the third act will soon be sorted out. On August 12, the theater sent money (4840 rubles) to your Griboyedkanal address... but for some reason the accountant became confused and, during the transfer, changed you into a woman. Then she grabbed it and sent a telegram to the post office (I will find out at whose expense), where she wrote that you are not Evgenia Lvovna, but he.

Our theater is touring the Crimea, but the artists who come to filming are looking forward to the start of rehearsals. And they can start in the second half of October, when our bear actors return from filming.

We hope to see you in the pre-general period. We wish you happiness, health, success. Everyone greets you and loves you very much. Heska sends greetings.

And shortly before the premiere, in December, Schwartz received a telegram from the theater, which said that it was necessary to release a poster for the play, and “the management, the artistic council, the director” were asking to change the name “Bear” to something else, for example, “It’s just a miracle” . Evgeny Lvovich, without hesitation, offered several options to choose from: “Cheerful Wizard”, “Obedient Wizard”, “Ordinary Miracle”, “Crazy Bearded Man” and “Naughty Wizard”. Four of the five titles revolved around the Master (the Wizard) in one way or another, but the play was not about him, but about love. And life taught all the characters in the play, including the Master, a lesson. The love between the Bear and the Princess turned out to be stronger than magic. This was the miracle. An ordinary miracle! The theater preferred this name. And Schwartz agreed with him.

Unexpected and even more joyful events happened to me. Erast staged “The Bear” at the Film Actor Theater. It is now called “An Ordinary Miracle”... Suddenly on January 13th in the afternoon there was a call from Moscow. The dress rehearsal was a great success. Erast reports this. At night Fraz calls with the same thing. On the 14th, around one in the morning, the call came again. The performance was shown to the box office audience, the so-called target, bought by some organization. Before the start there is a brass band and dancing. Everyone was expecting failure. And suddenly the audience understood the play perfectly. Even greater success... What makes me happy is not so much success as the absence of failure. That is, pain. I endure any kind of abuse like a burn, it doesn’t go away for a long time. But I never learned to believe in success...

This is the first time I am not attending my own premiere. And for some reason I don’t feel particularly sad... Well, Moscow is calling again. Garin, full of delight, and Khesya, even more full of delight. More precisely, her delight inspired more confidence. Erast drank with the stagehands to celebrate... and I felt the wonderful atmosphere that happens behind the scenes on the day of success. And he was comforted.

The premiere took place on January 18, 1956. Artist B. R. Erdman. Musical arrangement by V. A. Tchaikovsky and L. A. Rapporot. K. Bartashevich acted as the Host, N. Zorskaya acted as the hostess; Bear - V. Tikhonov, King - E. Garin, Princess - E. Nekrasov, Minister-Administrator - G. Georgiou, First Minister - A. Dobronravov, Emilia - V. Karavaeva, Emil - V. Avdyushko, Hunter - A. Pintus , executioner - G. Millyar.

And the next day Schwartz wrote to the Garins: “Dear Khesya and Erast! Thank you very much for all the calls. For all. I didn’t even have time to worry - you were so attentive to me...”

At the end of January, Leonid Malyugin and Alexander Kron watched the performance. And after watching, they shared their impressions with the author. “Dear Zhenya! - Malyugin wrote on the 23rd. - I was leaving for Saratov, and therefore could not be at the premiere of your play. He arrived and ran to the first performance. First of all, the theater was full (though it was Sunday), which is a rarity in our difficult times. Erdman made a very good set - the interiors are good, and the last act is simply magnificent. Garin, in my opinion, found the right key to the play - a very original work; The play is listened to very well. Maybe not everything in it reaches the viewer, but here a lot depends on the viewer, whom we have been feeding quinoa for so long that he has already forgotten the taste of real bread. I must say that not all actors convey the background in the play, its elegant humor. To be honest, Garin himself truly understood the play and plays excellently. The rest - as they can, there are interesting images, but all this is some part of the image... The third act seemed to me weaker than the first two - which, it seems to me, is also your fault. Well, but overall it’s interesting and new. I congratulate you on the birth of the play, which has been hidden for so long, I wish you health, so that you can come to Moscow as soon as possible and see everything with your own eyes.

Heartfelt greetings to Ekaterina Ivanovna.”

And two days later, on the 25th, Kron also sent a letter: “Dear friend! Please accept my congratulations. Yesterday I saw your film actor “Bear” at the theater. This Very good and marvelous talented. There is a lot of good fiction in the work of Garin and Erdman, but best of all is the play itself. The audience understands this and most of all applauds the text. The most precious thing in what I have seen and heard is wit, which has managed to become higher than wit. The humor of the play is not skittish, but philosophical. This is not environmental humor, this is universal. If this were not so, the play would not have survived to the premiere. Probably eight years have passed since you read our act and a half. And during this time nothing has become outdated, gone out of fashion, or lost vitality. Quite the contrary... I believe that “Bear” will have a happy fate. We just need to return to Act III. He is lower than the first two, which is a shame. Moreover, there is nothing inevitable or irreparable in this. Hugging you. Kron."

“Dear Lenya, thank you for your detailed and friendly letter. After this, the performance became completely clear to me. You're right about the third act, of course. Let me just remind you what Chapek says about this. He writes that the general opinion is that the first act is always better than the second, and the third is so bad that he wants to reform the Czech theater - to cut off all third acts completely. I say this not to justify myself, but to remind you that such troubles happen in the best families.

People from Moscow call me about the performance and tell me about it, and friends write to me. Everything seems to be fine, but I have the impression that I will get it for this. I would prefer things to happen more quietly. Good fees! Will they forgive me for such tactlessness? I open newspapers every time with the feeling that they are mined... I have composed something for the program, instead of a libretto. There I asked not to look for open meaning in the fairy tale, because it, that is, the fairy tale is told not to hide, but to reveal one’s thoughts. He also explained why some of the characters, who are closer to the “ordinary” ones, have everyday features of today. And why are the faces closer to the “miracle” written in a different way? When asked how such different people get along in one fairy tale, he answered: “Very simple. Just like in life." The theater did not intend to print the program with these explanations, but nevertheless, for the most part, the audience understands the play without a guide. Mostly. And I'm happy so far. But opening newspapers... etc.

Thank you again, dear friend, for your review. I kiss and send greetings to the whole family."

Both letters are similar, talk about the same thing, and are somewhat repeated. But the arguments that Schwartz gives in his defense vary and are very characteristic of him. Therefore, I will show Kron’s answer only in the most interesting fragments: “Dear Alexander Alexandrovich, thank you for your letter. I re-read it so many times that I almost remembered it by heart, and I was going to write an answer so many times that it seems to me that this is not the first time I have written to you.

Regarding the third act, you are probably right. I do not know him. Erast rearranged something there, shortened something - I’ll look and then I’ll understand. But regardless of this, musicologists say that the weakest thing in musical works, as a rule, is the ending. They call this: “the problem of the ending.” It's in the music! Where is the theory? What should we, sinners, do? I'm not making excuses. This is me, by the way...

(And again there is a story about the text for the program. - E.B.) ...None of this was published, and the box office audience mostly understood the tale without my explanation. They realized that you can take living people as models for both sinners and saints, for the correct ratio of arms, legs, light and shadow. This is how Garshin posed for the painting “John the Terrible Killing His Son.” Garshin is not a writer or a public figure, but his height and face help the picture acquire authenticity. I’m writing all this because I’m waiting for someone to hold me accountable, although there seems to be no reason.

Thank you again for your kind letter. And not only affectionate, but also serious, in your special way. Confidence-inspiring. I kiss you deeply...

From letters like yours, the blood pressure immediately becomes normal.”

It was not in vain that Evgeniy Lvovich feared reviews. Many months after the premiere, on May 24, he pulled out “Soviet Culture” from his mailbox, in which he found Mikhail Zharov’s review of the fiftieth performance of the play, where he indistinctly, but quite unpleasantly, scolded the play, attributing the success of the performance to the unusualness of the genre and talent of the production." He wrote that “An Ordinary Miracle” “introduces genre diversity” to the theater’s repertoire, fresh creative word..." As for the play itself, “its conflict, its morality, there are different opinions. Some are inclined to argue that its theme is not accurately outlined and developed by the author, that, in essence, the heroes are guided by some external forces, fate, that love for them is a source of suffering, that they do not fight for their happiness, and everything is not resolved according to logic relationships and feelings, but by the good will of the wizard. Perhaps there are some grounds for such judgments. To me personally, the wizard seems to be the personification creative forces of the people, mighty and omnipotent ruler, creator...” (Emphasis added). (I will note in parentheses that in this performance some roles were performed by actors of the second cast: M. Troyanovsky acted as the 1st minister, M. Gluzsky as the minister-administrator, S. Golovanov as Emil: but in M. Zharov’s assessment of the performance this didn't matter).

The author’s attitude towards this review shows how vulnerable Schwartz was, even if he reacted this way even to such a small injustice. The fact is that the People's Artist of the USSR and the anonymous people to whom he refers simply did not understand the meaning of what was happening in the action. But it's theirs problem, not the author. There are no “external forces” or any “fate” there. Even the Wizard himself can no longer intervene (change anything) in what is happening. Bear myself decides his fate. And love wins. Human love. This is what it is - a miracle! "An ordinary miracle." It always won, in all of Schwartz’s plays, be it “The Naked King”, “Shadow”, “Dragon” or “An Ordinary Miracle”. The latter was dedicated to Ekaterina Ivanovna, the wife with whom they lived for many years. And there was probably something from the Schwartzes themselves in the Master and Mistress.

But he thought seriously about the third act. I tried different endings. The best, in his opinion, was inserted into the text of the play. In addition, a “Prologue” appeared in the play, which explained the meaning of the “Miracle”. What the author wanted to do in the program. Before the start of the performance, a “man” appeared in front of the curtains and addressed the audience:

- “An Ordinary Miracle” - what a strange name! If a miracle means something extraordinary! And if it’s ordinary, then it’s not a miracle. The answer is that we are talking about love. A boy and a girl fall in love with each other - which is common. They quarrel - which is also not uncommon. They almost die of love. And finally, the power from the feelings reaches such a height that it begins to work real miracles - which is both surprising and ordinary...

“Dear Hesya and Erast! - Evgeny Lvovich wrote to Moscow back in February. - I am sending you a new version of the third act. This time, in my opinion, is the best. Everything became clear. The bear performs feats. The king ends his role. His fate is clearer. And so on and so forth. However, decide for yourself. Akimov is rehearsing this very option. My opinion is: handle this issue with caution. It’s scary to touch a performance that has already been performed and is alive. However, decide for yourself. Kiss you. Yours E. Schwartz.”

And Garin talks on March 7 about the first anniversary, twenty-fifth, performance and the twenty-sixth, post-anniversary performance: “Yesterday we played the twenty-sixth performance. The first anniversary has passed. The last two performances were a serious test for us. The 26th performance was watched by blind people, but that was not enough; from 5 o’clock in the evening they celebrated International Women’s Day. Then, when the first act of “Miracle” began, it was like water was in the mouth - there was no reaction, and only halfway through the second act they melted down and received it warmly.

We, the actors, were simply confused at first, but yesterday, starting the second quarter of a hundred, district committee workers watched “Miracle,” also in honor of March 8th. And although their eyes were watching, we didn’t even wait for the reaction of the blind. All actors dream of a simple, disorganized viewer, not affected by any illness. Fortunately, the sold-out crowds don’t stop.

During this time, many prominent spectators watched the performance and came with compliments, such as: Zavadsky, Slobodskoy, Zelenaya,<нрзб>, Zharov, etc. and less outstanding, but nice and enthusiastic... So for now we are keeping on the level.

I wish you health and inspiration. Everyone sends greetings to you and expects many more works from you...”

“Dear Hesya and Erast!

It’s a terrible pity that I can’t come on the twentieth and explain in words how grateful I am to you for your good attitude.

Erast staged a performance from a play that I myself did not believe in. That is, I didn’t believe that it could be installed. He got it, the play. He began rehearsing it, contrary to the opinion of the theater management. After the first screening, when they showed one and a half acts in the theater to the artistic council, you called me. And the production was completed! And then they called from you again. Such things are not forgotten. And now we have reached the fiftieth performance. Thank you, friends, for everything.

There is no person who, speaking about the performance or sending reviews and letters (and I received more of these than ever in my entire life, including from strangers), would not praise Erast with all his might. Oh yes, we are Ryazan residents! (My mother is from there).

I will do everything possible to come in June, I would have come on the twentieth. But Katerina Ivanovna suffered such fear when I was sick that I don’t have the cruelty to argue with her. And when I moved to Komarovo, I suddenly felt not only bad, but threatening. Now all this is passing.

In the Comedy the performance is going well. But after thinking about it, I decided to write another third act, which I will bring...

Greetings to the entire troupe and congratulations if the letter reaches the fiftieth performance. However, I will still telegraph on the twentieth. I kiss you deeply."

In 1956, the Comedy Theater was returned to Nikolai Pavlovich Akimov. The theater was dying. There were no fees, which means there was no money to pay the artists. In order to quickly improve matters, Akimov decided to begin by reviving “Dangerous Turn” by J. Priestley, a play staged by G. M. Kozintsev in 1939 and which enjoyed enormous success with the audience. Grigory Mikhailovich was not in Leningrad. At this time he was in Crimea, where he was filming Don Quixote. He learned about the resumption of his performance from A. Beniaminov, who came to the shooting. “Akimov not only did not consider it necessary to wait for my arrival so that I could somehow do this myself,” Kozintsev wrote on July 15 in despair to Evgeniy Lvovich, “but he did not even inform me about it, obviously considering my production to be ownerless property. I can imagine the shameful hack that will be released. Please advise what to do in such cases?..” But Akimov did not have time for this, it was necessary to urgently, very urgently do something. Nikolai Pavlovich decided that it would be renewal. And for the renewal he chose “Dangerous Turn”, because in the theater there were many artists who played in it, and G. Florinsky, who assisted Kozintsev during the production. They could well “remember” the performance.

On July 26, Schwartz answered him: “...Our friend Nikolai Pavlovich did not say a word to me about this renewal. I learned about it from posters. But! 1. Uvarova, an extremely strict woman who loves to scold, claims that the renewal was done respectfully and kindly. 2. All the performances were sold out. There is a lot of talk in the city, and everyone remembers you kindly.”

Critic Vera Smirnova also did not consider “Dangerous Turn” the best choice for revival. “What the Leningrad Comedy Theater and Akimov himself should renew is Schwartz’s “Shadow,” she insisted, “one of the best (I even think the best) play by this amazingly talented and unique playwright. Re-reading this “fairy tale for adults” now, I enjoyed most of all the author’s courage and intransigence in matters of art, in relation to reality, to truth and lies in life and in art. (...) Schwartz’s fairy tale is more truthful than many realistic plays, in it, as in life, there are both ordinary people and eminent ones, there is selfless love and profitable connections, there is a struggle for life and death and simply tangled intrigue, there is lyricism and genuine humanity, there is and subtle, needle-sharp irony is an evil parody... To convey in the theater this combination of lyricism and satire, the most incredible fantasy and the most ordinary modern words and things, the subtlest hints and the crudest “materialization” of metaphors - the most pressing issues contained into the naive and oldest literary form of a fairy tale - the task, in my opinion, is very interesting...” (Theater 1957. No. 1).

The task is, of course, very interesting, but also extremely difficult. In addition, perhaps it seemed to Akimov that the time for “Shadow” had not yet come. Yes, and there was a new play, which had already been successfully performed in Moscow, and which seemed to be simpler and not so sharp. And Akimov staged the second version of “Shadows” at the Comedy Theater only in 1960.

The premiere of “An Ordinary Miracle” took place at the Comedy Theater on April 30. Direction and scenography by N. Akimova, director P. Sukhanov, composer A. Zhivotov. The performance included artists L. Kolesov (Prologue), A. Savostyanov (Master), I. Zarubina (Mistress), V. Romanov (later L. Leonidov) (Bear), P. Sukhanov (King), L. Lyulko (princess), V. Uskov (minister-administrator), K. Zlobin (first minister), E. Uvarova (Emilia), N. Kharitonov (Emil), N. Trofimov (hunter), T. Sezenevskaya (court lady).

When his health allowed, Evgeny Lvovich attended room rehearsals, and then rehearsals on stage.

Yesterday I had the premiere of “An Ordinary Miracle” at the Comedy. I saw the play the day before yesterday - the first run-through, the last open dress rehearsal. It's a great thing when actors believe in a play. Akimov is more delicate and careful than ever before. And the audience believes me, the theater, Akimov. For everyone, this performance is a sign of joy. A sign of the return of the old Comedy... And the performance went well, but not great. Akimov is in some kind of frenzy of activity... All the actors at the room rehearsals made me happy. And when we got on stage, I felt fear and tension. However, the evening audience listened with tension, laughed a lot, and the unusual form did not bother anyone. But there is something so incompatible in Akimov with me, and in me with his mind made of unbreakable glass, extremely clear, cutting and completely unbending, and light without shadows, that it had to turn out that way. And I am a vague person... But sometimes a vague expectation of joy stirs. Familiar from childhood to today...

I gave him a copy of the play three years ago. He could well have staged it at the Lensovet Theater, but he didn’t even mention it. He was mysteriously silent, and I understood that he didn’t like her. But in Moscow, Garin staged it, contrary to the opinion of the management, showing half of the play, and convinced his opponents. Akimov returned to the Comedy Theater, and then - still with slight doubt - he made up his mind. Everything seems to be fine. But not great. It was as if they had put on someone else's costume for the play. Or during a production the play fits like someone else’s dress. But it’s a sin to complain. Everything is fine so far... My soul is rather calm - I feel like I’m living...

In 1965, at the Central Studio of Children's and Youth Films named after. M. Gorky's "An Ordinary Miracle" was filmed. Without seeing E. Garin's performance, it is difficult to compare it with the film, but judging by the fact that it was again staged by E. Garin (this time with Kh. Lokshina), and some of the performers of the play starred in it, from which we can assume that both of these productions were close to each other in design. The cameraman of the film was V. Grishin, the artist I. Zakharova, the composers were the same - V. Tchaikovsky and L. Rappoport. The cast included: A. Konsovsky (Master), N. Zorkaya (Mistress), E. Garin (King), G. Georgiu (Minister-Administrator), A. Dobronravov (1 Minister), V. Karavaeva (Emilia), V. Avdyushko (innkeeper Emil), V. Vestnik (hunter), G. Millyar (executioner). VGIK students O. Vidov and N. Maksimova starred in the roles of the young Bear and Princess.

Ordinary courage The life of Boris Ermilovich Tikhomolov developed in the same way as the lives of peers of his generation. The school is in Tashkent, where his family moved from Baku. Then, on the Komsomol permit, the construction of the famous Tashkent "Selmash". During the day - a digger,

Miracle If "The Kingdom" took the Danes by surprise with its amazing mixture of horror and laughter, the film "Breaking the Waves" completely tore the blanket off them. These two works in a row were, according to film critic Kim Scott, like a deuce in boxing: a blow to the laugh muscles and immediately after it

Miracle What do you do when you don’t want to look inside yourself? You look around. Or rather, in my case, up. I have always loved the sky. For me it has always been something more than a permanent ceiling. Every day I look at its splendor - at the lavender sunset or

An ordinary miracle He generally only recognized happy endings. Since childhood, when he flatly refused to finish reading a book, suspecting that it might end sadly. Mom used this for pedagogical purposes: as soon as Zhenya sat down to eat, she began

AN ORDINARY MIRACLE This is a miracle! You are ours! K. Stanislavsky “...I went straight from the station to Romanov’s rooms. There was only one free room, very small, and I settled in it. I took your portraits out of the suitcase, kissed them and placed them on the table, on the chest of drawers, on the table

MIRACLE-YUDO On one of the small hills that spread around Lugovka - the oldest village of Svyatogorye - there is a miracle-YUDO stone. Not a stone, but a whale. It was placed here eight years ago among other mossy boulders that have surrounded the hill since ancient times. I found this “whale” in

“An Ordinary Miracle” While Evgeny Lvovich was ill, his favorite artist Erast Garin attempted to stage “The Bear” at the Film Actor’s Studio Theater... The play interested G. A. Tovstonogov, then still the chief director of the Leningrad Theater. Leninsky

Miracle More than three months have passed since the case was sent to Moscow, and we are still waiting and are still alive. Now this can happen every night. And in the morning we look at each other, gloomy, green, unable to sleep a wink. Another night has passed. You can no longer sleep. We forget ourselves on

An ordinary feeling of fear. So, I will fly. In addition to the hand-held camera that will be in my cockpit, another movie camera is installed in the bomb bay. Lens down. By pressing a button, the camera motor is activated, and it will record the fall of bombs and their explosions on the ground. Manual

An ordinary miracle Spring sunny day. We, elementary school students, usually languish at such a time: we wish we could break out of lessons early, into the greenery of the yard... But instead of a regular lesson today, there is a miracle. The miracle is revealed by the young man Oleg - black-haired and black-eyed. He talks about

A play and two films: one was shot in the 60s by Garin Erast, the second by Mark Zakharov in 82. In the first - an exalted enthusiastic Master, caricatured characters, fairy-tale main characters - a princess and a bear - brought to the point of cloying. The director took the word “fairy tale” too literally.

And a bomb-like film from 1982. With the Owner - a wizard, writer, author, creator. With what sadness and disappointment he says: “I won’t help you anymore. I'm not interested in you." Yes... There is no greater sin than fear, cowardice... so the Master understood the hesitation... what? Weak? If you haven't kissed me, it means you don't love me... The bear has become too human in 7 years. A person can refuse love, worrying about his beloved...

Schwartz is a genius, but why did his genius seem to be veiled in the 60s, why did the wizard Garin and the Wizard Zakharov say the same words in completely different ways: “Sleep, my dear... I just took people, mixed them up and they became live in such a way that you laugh and cry. Some played better, others worse... well, shouldn’t we cross them out for that? Not words - people! (sorry about the bills). The whole play is imbued with love. Out of love for his wife, the owner stirred up this whole story; out of love, the bear remained human.

This is a wonderful discovery: people will be born from love...

Rating: 10

Rating: 9

I recently watched Zakharov’s movie. And I didn't like it. Of course, there are wonderful actors and Simonova, Vasilyeva and Solomin get into character, but it seemed to me that the “authorship” overpowered the text. The static nature of the scenery and the image created by Yankovsky create a heavy atmosphere. At one point, it seemed to me that the Owner was simply communicating with his dead wife, and there was no one else around at all, just an octopus-wizard with his house.

However, already while watching, I got the impression that Zakharov was putting pressure, so I wanted to touch the original source. The result was exactly as I expected: stuntedness and isolation disappeared from the words. In general, it’s surprising, but the play seemed much less theatrical than the director’s vision. The owner does seem like a bit of a sad, funny guy. The hostess is really a hostess. Although, perhaps, I’m being a little disingenuous here: at the same time, I watched “An Ordinary Miracle” in Garin’s version. The film 1964 is much more traditional and does not have cult status, but IMHO there are much more hits in the characters. For example, Mironov flashed the phrase: “You are attractive, I am damn attractive,” but I believed Georgiou with his impetuosity and hysteria much more.

The play itself is a beautiful, kind tale about the power of love and the responsibility of the creator. It seems to me that it makes no sense to tear it apart into its simplest elements, especially since everyone can form their own vision from reading and viewing. For example, when reading, I simply heard the voices of the actors who fell into the role for me. Most often these were actors selected by Garin and that’s it.

Overall: In my opinion, this is a case where a well-known production did not benefit the play. The play itself is sweet and kind, devoid of the desolation and dust of the old theater, although Zakharov’s heavy atmosphere intensified the conflict. That's my opinion.

Rating: 8

It’s a miracle that this play is easy to read and understand. Because it's a fairy tale. So the miracle is an ordinary one: who bothered with fairy tales? Ordinary - ordinary, everyday, often, ubiquitous (according to the explanatory dictionary); a miracle in one of the meanings is something unprecedented, unusual, amazing. And a miracle that is widespread everywhere is the love of a woman and a man. No one knows how it arises and why it may disappear. It is unknown why dissimilar people, who sometimes do not know each other, fall in love. But the power of love usually does not surprise anyone, but delights them like magic. Even a wizard does not have such power as love: he quietly hopes that his feeling for his wife will defeat death.

Evgeny Schwartz felt subtly that his love was tender, faithful, strong. Insensitive characters disappear in the finale, others simply melt away. And life goes on as usual, full of new expectations and hopes.

P.S. Now I’ll be happy to watch Mark Zakharov’s film adaptation. I never had any interest in it, I saw a little in films about the actors and the director himself.

Rating: 10

First I saw M. Zakharov’s version with Abdulov and Simonova in the lead roles, a very romantic couple: a courageous, cowboy-like Bear and a fragile, gentle, vulnerable, but strong Princess. But, to be honest, I remember most of all the King performed by E. Leonov. The film impressed me so much that I also reviewed the old version with the amazing, perhaps truly Hollywood-beautiful actor O. Vidov.

And then it was time to read. Well? The play is wonderful, beautiful and correct: Love conquers all obstacles, drives away death and reigns forever, even if our earthly life is short.

I really liked the way the heroes of the fairy tale invented by the Wizard (all writers are a little bit wizards) break out of the framework of the work and begin to live in their own way. So, don’t be afraid: “everything will be right, the world is built on this”!

Rating: 10

Unlike many, I first read the play, and then only found out about the film - this was a long time ago, back in the time of my not quite adolescence, but no longer childhood. I remember that I didn’t like the Wizard at all - who and what right gave him to control the life of a bear, but this is a living creature! - I thought... The Minister-Administrator was completely irritating - how can such a rare bastard live in the world... And the Hunter did not evoke anything positive in me at all. Then I watched the film - thoroughly and carefully, and my attitude towards the different characters became completely different. I fell in love with the Wizard, I hated the Administrator even more, and the rest of the characters became simply noticeable to me - in the play they were somehow lost for me... In general, I’m glad that the film and the book have now become inseparable, this only helps to understand and accept many the things described in them.

Rating: 10

I have watched Mark Zakharov’s film too many times, I remember all the lines by heart for a long time. The film is simply brilliant. Even simple sets and costumes do not spoil it. The wonderful script and wonderful performances of our favorite actors outshine everything. Having learned that one of my favorite films has a printed source, I decided to read it. While reading, of course, I imagined the faces of the characters from the film, but in the play the characters’ personalities are better revealed. The motives for the characters’ actions become clearer.

The play is wonderful. I received great pleasure from immersing myself in the author's vision of this amazing story.

Rating: 10

Master.

Mistress.

Bear.

King.

Princess.

Minister-Administrator.

First Minister.

Court lady.

Orinthia.

Amanda.

Innkeeper.

Hunter.

Hunter's Apprentice.

Executioner.

Appears before the curtain Human, who tells the audience quietly and thoughtfully:

– “An Ordinary Miracle” – what a strange name! If a miracle means something extraordinary! And if it’s ordinary, then it’s not a miracle.

The answer is that we are talking about love. A boy and a girl fall in love with each other - which is common. They quarrel – which is also not uncommon. They almost die of love. And finally, the strength of their feeling reaches such a height that it begins to work real miracles - which is both surprising and ordinary.

You can talk about love and sing songs, but we will tell a fairy tale about it.

But the heroes of the fairy tale, who are closer to the “miracle”, are deprived household damn today. Such are the wizard, and his wife, and the princess, and the bear.

How do such different people get along in one fairy tale? And it's very simple. Just like in life.

It all ended in grief for the lovers or in happiness - you will find out at the very end of the fairy tale. (Disappears.)

Act one

Estate in the Carpathian Mountains. Large room, sparkling clean. On the hearth is a dazzlingly sparkling copper coffee pot. A bearded man, huge in height, broad-shouldered, sweeps the room and talks to himself at the top of his voice. This owner of the estate.

Master. Like this! That's great! I work and work, as befits an owner, everyone will look and praise, everything with me is like that of other people. I don’t sing, I don’t dance, I don’t tumble like a wild animal. The owner of an excellent estate in the mountains cannot roar like a bison, no, no! I work without any liberties... Ah! (Listens, covers his face with his hands.) She goes! She! She! Her steps... I’ve been married for fifteen years, and I’m still in love with my wife, like a boy, honestly! It's coming! She! (Giggles shyly.) What a trifle, my heart is beating so hard it even hurts... Hello, wife!

Included mistress, still a young, very attractive woman.

Hello wife, hello! It’s been a long time since we parted, just an hour ago, but I’m happy for you, as if we haven’t seen each other for a year, that’s how I love you... (Gets scared.) What happened to you? Who dared to offend you?

Mistress. You.

Master. Are you kidding! Oh, I'm rude! Poor woman, standing there so sad, shaking her head... What a disaster! What have I, damned one, done?

Mistress. Think about it.

Master. Well, where is there to think... Speak, don’t be tormented...

Mistress. What did you do this morning in the chicken coop?

Master (laughs). So it’s me who loves!

Mistress. Thank you for such love. I open the chicken coop, and suddenly - hello! All my chickens have four legs...

Master. Well, what's offensive about that?

Mistress. And the chicken has a mustache like a soldier.

Master. Ha ha ha!

Mistress. Who promised to improve? Who promised to live like everyone else?

Master. Well, dear, well, dear, well, forgive me! What can you do... After all, I’m a wizard!

Mistress. You never know!

Master. The morning was cheerful, the sky was clear, there was nowhere to put any energy, it was so good. I wanted to fool around...

Mistress. Well, I would do something useful for the economy. They brought sand over there to sprinkle the paths. I would take it and turn it into sugar.

Master. Well, what a prank this is!

Mistress. Or he would turn those stones that were piled near the barn into cheese.

Master. Not funny!

Mistress. Well, what should I do with you? I fight, I fight, and you are still the same wild hunter, mountain wizard, crazy bearded man!

Master. I'm trying!

Mistress. Everything is going well, just like people do, and suddenly - bang! - thunder, lightning, miracles, transformations, fairy tales, all sorts of legends... Poor thing... (Kisses him.) Well, go, dear!

Master. Where?

Mistress. To the chicken coop.

Master. For what?

Mistress. Fix what you did there.

Master. I can not!

Mistress. Oh please!

Master. I can not. You yourself know how things are in the world. Sometimes you mess around, and then you’ll fix everything. And sometimes there’s a click and there’s no turning back! I already beat these chickens with a magic wand, and curled them with a whirlwind, and struck them with lightning seven times - all in vain! This means that what has been done here cannot be corrected.

Mistress. Well, nothing can be done... I will shave the chicken every day, and turn away from chickens. Well, now let's move on to the most important thing. Who are you waiting for?

Master. No one.

Mistress. Look into my eyes.

Master. I'm watching.

Mistress. Tell the truth, what will happen? What kind of guests should we receive today? Of people? Or will ghosts come and play dice with you? Don't be afraid, speak up. If we have the ghost of a young nun, I will even be glad. She promised to bring back from the other world a pattern for a blouse with wide sleeves, such as was worn three hundred years ago. This style is back in fashion. Will the nun come?

Master. No.

Mistress. It's a pity. So there won't be anyone? No? Do you really think that you can hide the truth from your wife? You'd rather deceive yourself than me. Look, your ears are burning, sparks are flying from your eyes...

Master. Not true! Where?

Mistress. There they are! That's how they sparkle. Don't be shy, admit it! Well? Together!

Master. OK! We will have guests today. Forgive me, I'm trying. Became a homebody. But... But the soul asks for something... magical. No offense!

Mistress. I knew who I was marrying.

Master. There will be, there will be guests! Here, now, now!

Mistress. Correct your collar quickly. Pull up your sleeves!

Master (laughs). Do you hear, do you hear? On his way.

The approaching clatter of hooves.

It's him, it's him!

Mistress. Who?

Master. The same young man because of whom amazing events will begin for us. What a joy! That's nice!

Mistress. Is this a young man like a young man?