First Night of Revived Musical Nord-Ost to Be Staged in Moscow on Saturday

The first night of the revived musical Nord-Ost, to be staged in Moscow on Saturday, will be a victory of the good over the evil.

After the October tragedy, when Chechen terrorists took actors and spectators of the musical hostage and their following liberation, Muscovites and visitors of the Russian capital would like again to see and hear the romantic story of the all-winning love between Sanya Grigoryev and Katya Tatarinova. The famous novel The Two Captains by Veniamin Kaverin, a romantic story written many years ago, has become the literary fabric for the musical. It has gone beyond the cultural life of only Moscow but has become the symbol of courage and unbending spirit.

After the liberation of hostages in the theater center on Dubrovka, many did not believe that the performance could be revived. The point was not only the vast damage done to the building and the costly equipment, but also the psychological blow dealt at actors and spectators.

But the Nord-Ost team of actors believed that the performance can and must live. Georgy Vasilyev, the author and general producer of the musical, was convinced that the musical must be revived. The only question was where.

Nord-Ost is a costly project, calling for heavy investment. The actor team has got backing from the state, big business and rank-and-file folk. As estimated by the general producer, the material damage done by the terrorist act to the musical was 23 million rubles. 22.5 million rubles were collected in a short time, 80 percent of the sum coming from individuals and organizations.

The day after the special hostage-release operation early on October 26, the Moscow authorities began to rehabilitate the building. Now the Theater Center has been restored and is better than before.

Of course, the tragic events of October have told on the performance. Before the first night show journalists were invited. Their opinion was: the performance is the same but somewhat different. It is the same in its music and plot but different in buoyancy, although the underlying idea is still the victory of the good over the evil.

At a press meeting before the first night, the general producer said that Nord-Ost has become part of "Russia's latest history." This, incidentally, is reflected in the logotype: earlier it was The Story of Love, now it is The History of the Country. The Story of Love.