Hard hero of the day

Leonid Samotsvetov

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(Photo: Sergei Abramenkov )

Oleg Tabakov turned 65 years old. On his last anniversary, he sent invitation cards to numerous friends with a picture of himself as a baby in a completely natural, that is, naked form. Now no one receives such invitations, not only because the joke cannot be repeated twice, but also because the new director of the Art Theater is simply not at home. He runs his own acting school in distant America.

The anniversary will still be celebrated, but it will happen a little later, in September, when the Art Theater opens a new season, and Oleg Tabakov will appear on stage in the premiere play “Love Letters,” where he will play together with Olga Yakovleva. The public is waiting.

Mkhatovites, however, are awaiting the opening of the theater with distinct anxiety. The fact is that, taking over the Moscow Art Theater after the death of Oleg Efremov, the new leader unequivocally promised to be a fairly tough and impartial boss. Some personnel innovations are already known. In particular, Tabakov intends to remove all directors of the Moscow Art Theater from the staff; only invited directors will work in the theater. One thing is clear: he will not tolerate ballast either in the troupe or in the administration. It is difficult to say whether this will help save the decaying theater. One way or another, Oleg Pavlovich promised to provide the empty Moscow Art Theater with at least three full houses a week - this is what he considers his minimum program. In the sold-out "Tabakerka" he led, everything was always in perfect order. But the small basement “Tabakerka” is one thing, and quite another is the capacious building with its two stages, its stalls, amphitheatres, balconies and buffets.