Re-enactment of scarlet sails. Musical performance "Scarlet Sails". What do we know about the writer himself?
SCRIPT FOR THE PERFORMANCE
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, boats, 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, feeling 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 going?
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. A shining mass of scarlet sails 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 will 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).
Scene for Valentine's Day holiday. Sketch “Scarlet Sails” for high school students. The skit can be part of a Valentine's Day script for schoolchildren.
Scene 1. Meeting of little Assol with the “wizard Egl”.
VOICE OVER: Little Assol played with a boat made by her father. The ship had scarlet sails. Assol launched the boat into the stream, and it sailed away. Frightened that she might lose her dear toy, Assol rushed to run after the boat with scarlet sails. The ship was caught by Aigle, traveling on foot, a famous collector of songs, legends, stories and fairy tales.
EGL: I swear by the Grimms, Aesop and Andersen, this is something special. Listen up, plant! Is this your thing?
ASSOL: Yes, I ran after her all over the stream; I thought I was going to die. Was she here?
EGL: At my very feet. The shipwreck is the reason why I, as a shore pirate, can give you this prize. The yacht, abandoned by the crew, was thrown onto the sand by a three-inch shaft - between my left heel and the tip of the stick. (Tapped his cane.) What's your name, baby?
ASSOL: Assol. (Hides the toy given by Egl in the basket.)
EGL: Okay. Actually, I didn't have to ask. your name. It’s good that it’s so strange, so monotonous, musical, like the whistle of an arrow or noise sea shell: What would I do if you were called one of those euphonious, but unbearably familiar names that are alien to the Beautiful Unknown? Moreover, I don’t want to know who you are, who your parents are and how you live. Why break the spell? I studied while sitting on this stone, comparative study Finnish and Japanese stories... when suddenly a stream splashed out this yacht, and then you appeared... Just as you are. I, my dear, am a poet at heart, although I have never composed anything myself. What's in your basket?
ASSOL: Boats (shaking the basket)... a steamboat and three more of these houses with flags. Soldiers live there.
EGL: Great. You were sent to sell. On the way, you started playing. You let the yacht sail, but it ran away - right?
ASSOL: Have you seen it? Or did you guess right?
EGL: I knew that. Because I am the most chief wizard. You have nothing to fear from me. On the contrary, I want to talk to you to my heart's content.
EGL (looks into the hall and says for the audience): Involuntary expectation of a beautiful, blissful fate. Oh, why wasn't I born a writer? What a nice story.
EGL (Assol): Come on, come on, Assol, listen to me carefully... I don’t know how long years will pass, only in Kaperna will one fairy tale blossom, memorable for a long time. You will be big, Assol. One morning, in the distant sea, 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. This wonderful ship will sail quietly, without shouts or shots; a lot of people will gather on the shore, wondering and gasping: and you will stand there. 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. “Far, far from here, I saw you in a dream and came to take you to my kingdom forever.” You will live there with me in the deep pink valley. You will have everything you want; We will live with you so friendly and cheerfully that your soul will never know tears and sadness.” 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 will descend from the sky to congratulate you on your arrival.
ASSOL: Is this all for me? Maybe he has already arrived... that ship?
EGL: Not so soon, first, as I said, you will grow up. Then... What can I say? It will be and it will be over. What would you do then?
ASSOL: Me? I would love him if he doesn't fight.
EGL: No, he won’t fight, he won’t, I guarantee that. Go, girl, and don't forget what I told you. Go. May there be peace to your furry head!
More than once, worried and timid, she went at night to the seashore, where, after waiting for dawn, she quite seriously looked out for a ship with scarlet sails. These minutes were happiness for her; It’s hard for us to escape into a fairy tale; it would be no less difficult for her to get out of its power and charm...
And her wait was not in vain. One day Captain Arthur Gray saw Assol sleeping.
Everything moved, everything smiled in him. Of course, he did not know her, or her name, or, especially, why she fell asleep on the shore, but he was very pleased with it. He loved paintings without explanations or captions. The impression of such a picture is incomparably stronger; its content, not bound by words, becomes limitless, confirming all guesses and thoughts.
Gray took the expensive old ring off his finger, not without reason thinking that perhaps this was telling life something essential, like spelling. He carefully lowered the ring onto his little finger, which was white from under the back of his head. The little finger moved impatiently and drooped.
At the tavern, Gray asked about the girl he saw. And he found out that her name is Assol and she is waiting for a magical ship with scarlet sails, on which a handsome prince will sail for her.
Gray bought the scarlet silk in the shop and, having made sails from it, went to his beloved...
Scene 2. Scarlet Sails.
Assol, seeing a ship with scarlet sails, rushed to the sea.
ASSOL: I'm here, I'm here! It's me! Music is playing. Gray goes down to Assol. ASSOL: You are absolutely the way I imagined you...
GRAY: And you too, my child! Bot, I'm here. Do you recognize me?
Assol nodded, holding onto his belt, closing her eyes. Assol and Gray stand under scarlet sails.
GRAY: Why are you closing your eyes?
ASSOL: I'm afraid that it will all disappear if I look... You came so magically...
GRAY (laughing): I dreamed of you a long time ago.... Everything is best in your eyes.
ASSOL: Will you take my father to us?
The scarlet sail is lowering.
VOICE OVER: Now we step away from them, knowing that they need to be alone. There are many words in the world in different languages and different dialects, but with all of them, even remotely, you cannot convey what they said to each other on that day...
: Zimmer - cellist, orchestra leader, violinist, clarinetist,
Visitors to the tavern:
Bald with red nose,
Curly-haired with a blue nose,
Old sailor.
Olga Vladislavovna Zhuravleva -
poet, novelist, playwright, member of the Union
writers of Russia, Kazan.
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Tel. 89178984781.
Action 1.
Picture 1.
A room in the house of sailor Longren. Twilight. A neighbor in a white cap holds a bundle with a child in her arms. A child's cry is heard. A woman tries to calm the baby by rocking her.
Neighbor. Ah-ah-ah... Ah-ah-ah... What beautiful girl, face like a doll! It's a pity that her mother left this world so quickly... Agu, agu... So you smile, baby. Your father will soon return from his voyage, I will hand you over to his arms. He doesn’t even know that he became a father... Poor sailor Longren...
There is a knock on the window.
Neighbor. Who's there? Longren?
Zimmer. We are traveling musicians. I'm Zimmer, I play the cello (strings the bow along the strings). This is a violinist (draws the bow along the strings). I - clarinetist (clarinet trill). Let us into the house.
Neighbor. Why else?
Zimmer. We have been on the road for several days and need rest.
Neighbor. Leave in good health!
Zimmer. What a feisty hostess! F sharp major!
Neighbor. The owner of this house died. I'm a neighbor. I am babysitting her daughter, a poor orphan. True, she has a father who is a sailor. But where is he? What if his ship sank?
Zimmer. God willing, the sailor will return and hug his baby.
Neighbor. I really hope so... I’m already tired of looking after someone else’s child, and the money left by Maria has run out. There are a few more coins though. But I also have to live on something.
A neighbor sings, musicians play along with her on the street.
Song of the Neighbor.
You are an unfortunate child
In this cloudy world,
You are alone in the world
Who will greet you?
Your mother is in the grave
There is no strength to cry.
And your father is at sea,
Woe, woe, woe...
Suddenly the ship crashed
Drowned in the sea?
Beautiful girl
How will you cope with life?
Neighbor. Bye-bye... Bye-bye... I fell asleep. A good child, calm, cheerful. He only cries when he wants to eat. I've seen capricious children in my time! Bye-bye... Bye-bye...
Blackout.
Longren appears, his figure is highlighted.
Longren. Dear home! I haven't been here for six months and now I'm back. But my dear Maria did not meet our ship, as happened before.
Longren enters the house.
Longren. Neighbor?
Neighbor. Longren!!!
Longren. What is this in your hands? And where is my Maria?
Neighbor. This is your daughter, Longren.
Longren. Daughter? Come on, give it to me! How small and light! Daughter! Daughter! But, my Maria? Where is she?
Neighbor. Oh, Longren, Longren...
Longren. What? What's happened?
Neighbor. Maria’s health deteriorated greatly after the birth of her baby...
Longren. Where is she? Where?
Neighbor. You're late, Longren...
Longren. But our ship arrived on time...
Neighbor. You're late for Maria...
Longren. Where is my Maria? Speak up!..
Neighbor. She died. Yesterday they buried...
Longren. Woe is me!
A baby is heard crying. Longren rocks the child, the crying subsides.
Neighbor. Take care of your daughter, Longren, but I have to go.
Longren. Woe is me! Woe!
Neighbor. It's nothing you can do. Your child is small and helpless. You have no time to grieve.
Longren. You're right, I have no time to grieve. Tell me, did Maria manage to name our daughter?
Neighbor. She was tossing about in delirium, and she had no time for it.
Longren. Was my Maria tossing about in delirium?...
Neighbor. Delirious, Longren. It was hard for her.
Longren. It was hard for her...
Neighbor. I think she's in heaven now.
Longren. My poor Maria did not have time to give a name to our daughter... And you? What is your girl's name?
Neighbor. I just call her “baby.”
Longren. My baby will have the most beautiful name in the world!
Neighbor. What kind of name?
Longren (thoughtful). Assol!
Neighbor. Assol?
Longren. This name will bring her happiness.
Neighbor. There is no smell of happiness in our town. Probably, I was in vain nursing the baby; it would have been better for her to die after her mother. Life is tough. Unhappy Assol. Goodbye, poor Longren.
Longren. Goodbye, Neighbor! And thank you for your daughter.
Neighbor. You can’t make a fur coat out of “thank you.” Everything costs money in this world.
Longren. Please accept this gold coin as a token of my gratitude.
Neighbor (tests a coin). Real. He's not that poor.
The neighbor leaves. There is a knock on the window.
Longren. Who's there?
Longren. Come in, friends. Warm up, relax.
The musicians enter the house.
Zimmer. Thank you, a kind person, yes, it’s really warm here. F sharp major!
Longren. Both warm and light (lights a candle). Play for my Assol, friends. We must not be discouraged.
The musicians are playing.
Longren's song.
Little daughter,
My tender flower.
We will grow with you
To the joy of all good people.
Assol. Yeah!
Little daughter
My tender flower.
I'll make you outfits
You will be the most beloved.
Assol. Yeah!
Little daughter
My tender flower.
Let's live happily with you,
You will be the most beautiful.
Assol. Aha, aha!
Zimmer. Someday we'll play at your daughter's wedding, sailor. F sharp major!
Longren. So it will be, friends!
Longren puts Assol in the cradle. There is a knock on the window.
Longren. Who's there?
Egle. It's me, old Aigle.
Longren. A! Friend Egle! Dreamer and storyteller! Come in! A kind person like you is always a welcome guest in my home.
Egle enters the house. The neighbor creeps up to the window (door) and listens.
Egle. I heard about your grief, Longren.
Longren. Yes…
Egle. But I also heard about your happiness - about your little daughter.
Longren. Oh yes my friend! Here she is…
Egle. What a wonderful child!
Assol. Yeah!
Egle. Gorgeous! A wonderful future awaits her.
Longren. Thank you for your kind words, Egle. I will take care of her happiness.
Egle. What is the name of this beautiful flower?
Longren. I named her Assol.
Egle. Assol. This name will bring her happiness. And you know, somewhere, on the other side of the sea, a prince has already been born for your little one.
Longren. Do you hear, my little princess?
Assol. Yeah, yeah...
Song of Egle.
Our nice girl
Everything will be great.
At the little girl's
Dreamy beauties.
Her father will be her friend
There are few of them in the world,
And life will go in circles,
Fate had it that way.
And the mother of this little one
In heaven now, of course.
I'll tell you a secret,
That's the only place she belongs.
Longren. And you say that my Mary is in heaven?
Egle. It seems to me that this is exactly the case, my friend. She was a holy woman.
Longren. You know, Egle, right now I think heaven is no better than a woodshed. If only our little family were together now...
Egle. Who can argue, Longren? But you can’t bring Maria back... How will you live?
Longren. For as long as I can remember, I have always been a sailor.
Egle. But now you can't go to sea.
Longren. It is forbidden. That's what, when I was a child, my father and I made toy boats.
Egle. Really?
Longren. Imagine, we had a whole flotilla. Frigates, longboats, yachts...
Egle. Wonderful, buddy! Not a single child grew up without toys.
Longren. I still have a tool somewhere... I'll start tomorrow.
Egle. That's right!
Zimmer. Thank you for the shelter, master. We will go to the tavern, play there, and earn money for a bowl of soup. F sharp major!
Egle. And it's time for me. Goodbye, Longren.
Longren. Farewell, friends.
Assol. Yeah! Yeah!
The neighbor barely has time to run away from the window (door). The musicians and Aigle do not notice her.
Picture 2.
Tavern. Behind the counter, Hin Menners is the owner of the inn, he is talking with the Neighbor, and visitors are sitting at the tables.
Hin Menners. So you're saying Longren is back?
Neighbor. Returned. His ship did not sink, did not run aground, and did not crash on the rocks.
Hin Menners. So now there is someone to take care of the baby?
Neighbor. Why are you asking questions, Hin Menners? I don't want to tell you anything.
Hin Menners. Here's a coin for you. Maybe your tongue will start moving faster.
Neighbor. Wow! (takes a coin.) Perhaps I'll tell you something.
Hin Menners. How did Longren cope with Maria's death? After all, they had love.
Neighbor (with mockery). Did they have love? He didn't seem upset at all. He immediately started singing a song.
Hin Menners. Hmm... Is his daughter good?
Neighbor. She's terribly ugly.
Hin Menners. Is she ugly? Strange. Her mother, Maria, was very beautiful. And Longren, as I know, is far from a freak.
Neighbor. But my daughter is a real monkey!
Hin Menners (addressing visitors). Hey you! Do you hear? Maria and Longren had an extremely ugly daughter!
Bald with a red nose. We hear, we hear...
Hin Menners. What name did he give to his monkey?
Neighbor (mockingly). He named her Assol!
Hin Menners. Assol? Ha ha ha! Assol. (Addresses visitors.) Do you hear? Longren named his daughter Assol, no more, no less.
Curly with a blue nose. We hear, we hear...
Hin Menners. Isn't it too beautiful for a freak?
Neighbor. I told Longren the same thing, but he is sure that this name will bring happiness to his daughter.
Hin Menners. Longren wanted happiness in our stupid town? Where is it? Oh, happiness! I don’t hear an answer...
Neighbor. Imagine this. He wants happiness for Assol... Well, isn’t he crazy?
The musicians and Aigle enter. The musicians sit in the corner of the tavern.
Hin Menners (to visitors) Hey, have you ever seen happiness?
Bald with a red nose. Did not see…
Curly with a blue nose. Never... No...
Old sailor. Happiness? I don’t even know such a word, the anchor is in my throat!...
Egle. And I saw happiness.
Hin Menners. Where? When?
Neighbor. Where? When?
Egle. Today. In the house of the sailor Longren. This wonderful happiness smiled at me and said “aha, aha...”
Hin Menners. Did happiness say “aha”?
Neighbor. Something is wrong here...
Egle. Happiness is his daughter Assol.
Hin Menners. They say she is terribly ugly...
Egle. Assol is wonderful. I saw her with my own eyes.
The neighbor slowly leaves.
Hin Menners. Hey Neighbor! Neighbor! Gone. Who to believe? And are children really happiness? Hey, (addresses visitors) have your children brought you happiness?
A neighbor is standing at the window (door) listening.
Bald with a red nose. Children are nothing but trouble. Either they are sick, or they are hungry. Every day they want to eat... Oh-ho-ho... I sit here so as not to hear their squeaks.
Curly with a blue nose. Children grow up quickly, they need new clothes and shoes all the time. And if these are girls, they also need ribbons, combs... And all sorts of other nonsense. Where to get enough?
Elderly sailor. I have no children. Let them grow somewhere else, but not in my house, the anchor is in my throat.
Curly with a blue nose. You are the most intelligent of us. Children will grow up and become our shame...
Egle. Children are our support.
Bald with a red nose. Children are our shame!
Hin Menners. My father used to say the same thing. I was a real disaster for him. He waited for me to grow up and start working so as not to have an extra mouth to feed. I've been standing behind this counter since I was seven, damn it.
Song by Hin Menners.
I grew up as a sickly child.
He was small in stature and had a thin voice
The house rang all day long.
My father did not tolerate me.
Visitors. Yo-ho-ho!
More than once I got hit in the neck
And every time I'm stronger
Father beat, beat, beat,
And I roared and even howled.
Visitors. Yo-ho-ho!
But now I'm standing here,
My kids are waiting for me.
I'll beat them all tonight
So that they know how much I love them.
Visitors. Yo-ho-ho!
So that they know how much I love them!
Visitors. Yo-ho-ho!
Egle. I guess I’ll go, I feel a bit uncomfortable here...
Hin Menners. Wait a minute, old man.
Egle. No, I'll go, you're not my boss.
Hin Menners. I'm the boss here! Everyone depends on me. AND beautiful Maria When she got sick, she came to me and asked to borrow money...
Egle. And you?
Hin Menners. But I didn’t give it. I am not obliged to help every kind of poverty!
Egle. Hey, did you hear what your master did? He didn’t even give Maria a loan, he didn’t save a defenseless woman with a baby in her arms from death...
Bald with a red nose. I don't eavesdrop on other people's conversations.
Curly with a blue nose. I'm generally deaf.
Old sailor. Did Hin Menners say something?... An anchor down my throat! In my opinion, he is silent, like a fish on ice.
Egle. Hin Menners has just confessed to his heinous misdeed, and if you didn't hear, that doesn't mean someone else didn't. And I will remember his words for the rest of my life and will never shake hands with him... Goodbye.
The visitors and Hin Menners are silent.
Musicians (in chorus). Farewell, Egle!
Egle leaves. The neighbor barely has time to run away from the tavern door. Egle doesn't notice her.
Neighbor. That’s how it was... Maria went to ask Hin Menners for money... But he didn’t give it, and this despite his huge amount of money. What a scoundrel... Yeah! I now know this secret, and I’ll get money from him so that no one else, especially Longren, finds out about it. (Thoughtfully) If Longren finds out, he’ll simply kill Hin Menners. Longren's hand is heavy.
End of the first act.
Action 2.
Picture 1.
House of the sailor Longren. Assol is already eight years old. Her father Longren is sitting at the table, making a boat with scarlet sails, Assol is watching her father’s work.
Assol. Father, what a wonderful frigate!
Longren. I really like him myself, daughter.
Assol. Let's not sell it, father.
Longren. This is the most wonderful toy I have made in my entire life. You're right - it's a pity to sell such beauty...
Assol. Some rich parents will immediately buy it for their son... And their son will immediately break it. Boys always break everything.
There is a knock on the door.
Assol and Longren (in unison). Who's there?
Zimmer. We are the traveling musicians.
Assol. Come in, friends.
The musicians enter.
Longren. Whole year we missed you and your music.
Zimmer. This house is always warm and light. F sharp major! And now, it seems, it has become even brighter?
Assol. Is it bright from the new frigate with scarlet sails?
Zimmer. No, my child, all this good light comes from you.
Longren. My Assol is kindness and tenderness itself.
Zimmer. We traveled halfway around the world and nowhere did we meet a kinder and more affectionate girl than Assol.
Assol. Make yourself comfortable, friends, relax.
Zimmer. And most importantly, she never turns up her pretty nose. F sharp major!
There is a knock on the door.
All in unison. Who's there?
Egle. It's me - Egle.
Longren. Come in, my good friend.
Aigle enters.
Assol. Hello, Egle. I recently learned to embroider.
Egle. Hello, my smart girl. ABOUT! Yes, you have guests!
Longren. Kind people are always welcome in our house.
A neighbor creeps up to the door (window) and listens.
Song Assol.
My father is Longren gray-haired
With a white, white beard.
Makes toys for children
He is everywhere in this world.
Boats are for boys.
Boats for girls.
And I read books
And I love a kitten.
We have good friend,
His name is Egle,
He is white as powder
Cheerful troublemaker.
Funny stories
Collects around the world
And all the kids here
They love to listen to them.
Egle. Nice song.
Assol. What can you say about the new frigate with scarlet sails, dear Aigle?
Egle. He is beautiful.
Assol. I ask my father not to sell it.
Longren. If we don’t sell this toy, we won’t have enough money to buy bread, daughter.
Egle. It's a shame to part with such beauty. But you'll have to sell it.
Assol. It's a pity…
Egle. Don't be sad, my child. Very little time will pass, seven or eight years, and the handsome prince will come for you on the same wonderful frigate under scarlet sails.
Assol. A real prince?
Egle. The most real one.
Assol. A real prince...
Egle. The prince will tell you - hello, my child. And you will answer him...
Assol. Hello.
Egle. What is your name, beautiful flower?
Assol. Assol.
Egle. Weren't you the one who's been waiting for me all these years?
Assol. I've been waiting for you all these years, prince charming... And then?
Egle. And then he will tell you his name.
Assol. And then?
Egle. The prince will take you on his magnificent frigate under scarlet sails.
Assol. Will take me...
Egle. And you will sail to a beautiful country where there is no place for grief and envy.
Assol. Where there is no place for grief and envy... (addresses the musicians) You travel a lot, my friends, have you been to such a country?
Zimmer. No, we have never been to such a country. But it's definitely out there somewhere. It's time for us, master. Is your tavern closed?
Longren. It hasn't closed, it's still in the same place.
Zimmer. We will play in the tavern, earn a bowl of soup, F sharp major.
Assol. Congratulations, friends!
Egle. Perhaps it's time for me too.
The musicians and Aigle leave. The neighbor barely has time to run away from the window (door).
Assol (admiring the boat). My dear little boat, how I like you! My dear little boat, we will part ways. My dear little boat, how good you are! My dear little boat, you will find me!
Longren. Egle told a wonderful tale. And now, daughter, go to the tavern and buy some bread.
Assol. Okay, father.
Assol approaches the sailboat, takes it with him, and leaves the house.
Blackout.
Picture 2.
Tavern. Hin Menners and Neighbor. The same visitors in the same places. The musicians come in, sit in the corner, and tune their instruments.
Hin Menners. What's new in our vile little town, Neighbor?
Neighbor. Why should I tell you anything, Hin Menners. Lots of people come to you, ask them.
Hin Menners. Hey you! What's new in our vile little town?
A bald old man with a red nose. I didn't see anything...
Curly-haired old man with a blue nose. I didn't hear anything...
Old sailor. I won't say anything...
Hin Menners. And so every day. Boring! (yawns).
Neighbor. I don't have to tell you anything.
Hin Menners. What if it’s like this? (gives a coin)
Neighbor (tests a coin). Real. But I won't tell you anything.
Hin Menneps. Then throw the coin back.
Neighbor. I won’t even think about it!
Hin Menners. And why is that?
Neighbor. Because you still owe me.
Hin Menners. I? You? Must? Everyone owes it to Hin Menners.
Neighbor. And Hin Menners owes me!
Hin Menners. What did I not understand?
Neighbor. Once I heard a story here that you did not lend money to the sick Maria, Assol’s mother. And, if you don’t want anyone else to know this shameful story, pay. And if Longren finds out about this...
Hin Menners. Oh, you old hag! Extortionist...
Neighbor. If Longren finds out about this, he will simply kill you.
Hin Menners. Hmm... His hand is heavy. Okay, here's another coin for you. For silence.
Neighbor (tests a coin). Real. Well, I’ll keep quiet... For a while...
Hin Menners. Now tell me what you sniffed out? What's the news?
Neighbor. And this is the news. Old Egle promised Assol that in seven or eight years the prince would come for her on a frigate with scarlet sails!
Hin Menners. Prince?
Bald with a red nose. Will he come for Assol? Ha ha ha!
Curly with a blue nose. On a frigate? In our hole?
Old sailor. Under scarlet sails? Anchor down my throat!
Everyone is laughing.
Neighbor. That's it! Under scarlet sails!
Hin Menners. Yes, you just came up with all this yourself. I don't believe you! Drive the coin back!
He wants to take money from the Neighbor. Assol enters.
Everyone is silent in response.
Assol. Hello Hin Menners!
Hin Menners (mumbling under his breath). Hello.
Assol. Hello, my dear Neighbor!
Neighbor (sullenly). Hello.
Assol. Hello blue nose and red nose! Hello, old sailor.
Visitors (discordantly) Hello...
Neighbor (affectionately). What kind of toy do you have, Assol?
Assol. Oh, this is a beautiful frigate. Quite a bit of time will pass, seven or eight years, and just like on such a frigate under scarlet sails, a handsome prince will come for me.
Hin Menners. Prince? Ha ha ha!
Bald with a red nose. Will he come for you? Ha ha ha!
Curly with a blue nose. On a frigate? Ha ha ha!
Old sailor. Under scarlet sails? Anchor down my throat! Ha ha ha!
Assol. That's what old Egle told me.
Hin Menners. Old Aigle has long since lost his mind.
Assol. No! My friends, musicians, tell me that this is the absolute truth.
Zimmer. We will still play at your wedding, dear Assol.
Hin Menners. This is not sweet Assol. Ha ha ha! This is the ship's Assol, since she so believes in the fairy tale about a boat with scarlet sails. Ha ha ha! I've never heard anything funnier in my life!
Song by Hin Menners.
Don't believe in fairy tales, kids,
You are good even without fairy tales.
And fairy tales are harmful,
Harmful and poor.
Visitors. Yo-ho-ho!
From storytellers no money,
They don't take their word for it.
Hin has one secret -
I measure everything with money.
Visitors. Yo-ho-ho!
While the copper rings in your pocket,
Yes silver, yes gold,
Should I die, get sick, grow old?
I don't want to, guys.
Visitors. Yo-ho-ho!
But if I suddenly start to get sick,
And I will start to die,
That's gold, silver and copper
I'll take it to the grave.
Visitors. Yo-ho-ho!
Assol. My father says that everything is here - in this world. And in the next world nothing will be useful - not even money. Even if we have a lot, a lot of money now, we still won’t be able to resurrect my dear mother...
Hin Menners. You're too smart, baby. And anyway, why did you come here? To tell stupid fairy tales old Aigle?
Assol. I came to buy bread.
Hin Menners. Give me the money, take the bread and get out of here with your pathetic little boat!
Assol. This frigate will bring me happiness!
Hin Menners. Get out of here, ship's Assol!
Assol. My dear Neighbor, don’t you really believe in scarlet sails?
Neighbor. Such an ugly girl is unlikely to have any luck.
Assol. Why did you nurse me after the death of my beloved mother?
Neighbor. Poor child! It would be better if you followed your unfortunate mother then. I don't know any happy person in this vile little town.
Assol. Red nose, and you?
Bald with a red nose. I have never seen a happy person.
Assol. Blue nose, what about you?
Curly with a blue nose. I've never even heard of a happy person.
Assol. And you, old sailor?
Old sailor. I can’t say anything, the anchor is in my throat.
Hin Menners. Get out of here, ship's Assol! So that my eyes don’t see you!
Assol. What a pity that my mom is not with me...
Sad Assol leaves the tavern. Blackout.
End of the second act.
Third action.
Picture one.
The same seven or eight years promised by Egl have passed. Summer. Forest edge on a high seashore. Assol is already 16 years old. Assol walks along the forest edge. Birds are chirping.
Assol. Hello sun!
The sun begins to shine even brighter.
Assol. Hello birds!
The birds respond with cheerful chirping.
Assol. How I love this high bank! I come here, peer into the distance and look, look until my eyes hurt. Where are you, scarlet sails? Where are you, my handsome prince?
The figure of the young captain Arthur Gray can be seen behind the trees; he froze and listened to Assol’s story.
Assol. Eight years ago, old Aigle told me that a frigate with scarlet sails would come for me. On this frigate the captain will be a handsome prince. Smart and kind. And he will take me with him to a country where there is no grief and envy. Yes, yes, such a country exists somewhere... out there. And my father talked about this, and the traveling musicians... How tired I am today, selling toys at the market... I think I’ll take a nap. What if my handsome prince appears to me in a dream?
Assol lies down on the white moss and falls asleep. Arthur Gray emerges from the trees.
Arthur Gray. Beautiful child... How pure are your thoughts, how pure is your soul. Should I leave you something as a pledge for our future meeting? Emerald! You won't be able to miss him. And you will understand - this is greetings from me.
Arthur Gray takes off a pendant with a large emerald and puts it on Assol’s neck. He stands there for a while, looking at her while the birds chirp. The sounds of a march are heard and wandering musicians appear.
Arthur Gray. Quiet, quiet, my friends, I ask you.
Zimmer. What happened, captain?
Arthur Gray. A wonderful girl is sleeping here, don't wake her.
Zimmer. Yes, this is Assol, F sharp major!
Arthur Gray. Shh! Hush. What did you say, old man?
Zimmer. Assol.
Arthur Gray. Assol... So you know her?
Zimmer. Do we know her? She has fallen asleep to our music since birth. F sharp major!
Arthur Gray. Then play, I want Assrl to have a wonderful dream.
Song of Arthur Gray.
I redeemed my heart
In a sea of joy and light.
A door has opened to a new world,
Summer was shining with sunshine.
Clouds of my sorrow
They evaporated imperceptibly.
We are at the new pier
It was like we were in a fairy tale.
And now my soul
Everything is filled with peace.
It was not in vain that I came here,
I met you here...
Zimmer. And now his soul
Everything is filled with peace.
It was not in vain that he came here,
I met you here.
Arthur Gray leaves. Musicians follow him. After a while, Assol wakes up. A large faceted emerald on a gold chain is clearly visible on her chest.
Assol. What a wonderful dream. Birds! Listen! I saw my sweet prince in a dream. I didn’t see his face, but I felt how kind he was... His kindness warmed me like the sun.
Suddenly she feels the weight of the pendant on her chest.
Assol. What is this? And my dream must be continuing. I'm still sleeping? But no, here is a living tree branch (touches a tree branch). The sun is blinding my eyes. The birds are chirping with all their might. It's not a dream.
The Neighbor appears at the edge of the forest.
Assol. Hello, my dear Neighbor.
Neighbor. And, the ship's Assol? What else is this?
The neighbor grabs the emerald and tries it on her teeth.
Neighbor. Look, it's a real emerald. Where did you get it from?
Assol. I had a wonderful dream...
Neighbor. Ugh! Useless conversation! You'll say a lot of nonsense again about scarlet sails. The ship's Assol is the ship's Assol.
The neighbor leaves. Blackout.
Picture 2.
Tavern. Hin Menners is standing behind the counter, next to him is the Neighbor. Visitors in the same places. Musicians are sitting in the corner.
Hin Menners. Any news?
Neighbor. No news for you, Hin Menners.
Hin Menners. Here you go! In the morning I saw the ship's Assol walking to the edge of the forest. She goes there often. And you know exactly what that crazy woman is doing there.
Neighbor. Drive the coin!
Hin Menners (giving a coin). Hold it, greedy!
Neighbor. Drive the second one!
Hin Menners. You've had enough.
Neighbor. If you don’t give me another coin, I’ll tell the first person I meet about your vile act.
Hin Menners. I have committed many heinous things in my life, I don’t even remember, what are you talking about?
Neighbor. About how you didn’t give money to sick Maria with her baby in her arms. But you had money. And now there are...
Hin Menners. There is no point in counting money in someone else's pocket. Tell me the news, otherwise I’ll take the coin, old hag.
Neighbor. Can you give me the second coin?..
Hin Menners. I'm not giving it. And it's over!
Neighbor. Then I will tell the first person I meet...
Arthur Gray enters the inn. He hears the conversation.
Hin Menners. Tell me. I'm not afraid of anyone.
Arthur Gray. Tell me, kind woman What did this fat innkeeper do?
Hin Menners. You new person in our area. How do you know I did something?
Arthur Gray. Innkeepers are rarely there honest people. I've traveled all over the world and seen some things.
Neighbor. He did not lend money to Maria when she came to him sick and weak with a baby in her arms. And he had money!
Arthur Gray. And what happened to Maria?
Neighbor. Soon she departed to another world.
Hin Menners. Look, it was a long time ago. Sixteen years ago...
Arthur Gray. Meanness has no statute of limitations!
Arthur Gray presses a saucepan on Hin Menners's head, which stands on the inn counter.
Arthur Gray. This is for Maria. I cannot stand it when women and children are insulted!
Neighbor. Serves you right, Hin Menners.
Hin Menners (trying to remove the pan, it won’t budge). Let's see who wins...
Arthur Gray. What happened to that little girl?
Neighbor. With Assol? She is alive and well. And all thanks to me. I nursed the poor baby until her father, the sailor Longren, returned from his voyage.
Arthur Gray. Thank you, kind woman.
Arthur Gray gives the Neighbor a coin. The neighbor is testing the coin.
Neighbor. Golden! By the way, Assol waits for his prince every day on the steep seashore.
Arthur Gray (to himself). My dear Assol...
Bald with a red nose. Assol is a crazy fool...
Curly with a blue nose. She is waiting for the prince...
Old sailor. She says that a frigate under scarlet sails will take her to an unknown country, the anchor is in my throat!
Arthur Gray. What kind of country is this, Ancient Mariner?
Old sailor. A country where there is no grief and envy, an anchor in my throat!
Arthur Gray. A frigate under scarlet sails... A country where there is no grief and envy...
Hey Hin Menners! Treats for everyone at my expense!
Hin Menners. It will be done, captain! Just don't fight.
Zimmer. My friends, a wonderful feast awaits us! F sharp major!
Zimmer's song.
Our lives are spinning
A multi-colored carousel.
The song doesn't end
On a dark night, at dawn.
This song will last
For many, many years in a row.
And it will flow from the heart
Like an autumn starfall.
There are few words in this song.
It's easy to sing.
The road will lead us all
Very, very far...
During the song, Hin Minners serves food. Arthur Gray leaves.
Neighbor. Must be a very rich man. Prince.
Hin Menners. Prince... Ugh!
Assol enters.
Assol. Hello, good people.
Everyone is silent.
Assol. Hello Hin Menners.
Hin Menners. Hello.
Assol. Hello, dear Neighbor.
Neighbor. See you.
Assol. Hey blue nose, red nose! Old sailor! Hello!
Visitors (discordantly). Hello, ship's Assol. Hello Assol...
Assol. Today I had a wonderful dream...
Hin Menners. Was it really the prince who appeared in your stupid dream?
Assol. Yes, the prince appeared to me in a dream, Hin Menners. Oh, what's that on your head?
Hin Menners. The pan is on my head. Or don't you see?
Assol. Poor Hin Menners! Won't it come off?
Hin Menners. It won’t come off, damn it!
Assol. Let me help you, maybe I can do it?
Hin Menners. The assistant has been found! The crazy fool took pity on the richest man in town! What have I come to...
Assol. Who are you like that?
Hin Menners. Do not come to me! Shoot! Shoot!
Neighbor. It seems that the prince from your dream has reached Hin Menners himself.
Assol. Dear Neighbor, I also think it was a waking dream.
Neighbor. It also happens - a dream in reality. Look, Hin Menners, what a luxurious emerald appeared out of the blue on the thin neck of little Assol.
Hin Menners. Gorgeous thing. Sell!
Assol. What are you, what are you, Hin Menners, I think this is greetings from my dear prince. And is it possible to sell a dream?
Hin Menners. In this world, everything is bought and sold!
Assol. I don't think so, Hin Menners. Goodbye, good people.
The answer is silence. Assol leaves.
Hin Menners. She doesn’t count... But I count money all the time. Hey blue nose! What are you thinking about?
Bald with a blue nose. I'm thinking about roasted leg of lamb...
Hin Menners. Glutton! Hey red nose, what are you thinking about?
Curly with a red nose. I think about chicken wings…
Hin Menners. Is my treat not enough for you? Hey old sailor, what are you dreaming of?
Old sailor. My head is empty, like the unloaded hold of a ship, the anchor is in my throat!
Hin Menners. What about you, Neighbour? What are you thinking about?
Neighbor. I'm thinking how I could...
Egle enters the tavern.
Egle. A frigate with scarlet sails has arrived in the roadstead!!!
Blackout.
Picture two.
Forest edge on a steep seashore. At the edge of the forest are all the inhabitants of the tavern, Egl, Longren, Hin Menners with a saucepan on his head, the neighbor, the orchestra in in full force. It flashes over the crowd: “Scarlet sails! Scarlet Sails? Scarlet sails... (joyfully, with envy, with anger) She waited!” Assol appears, the crowd makes way for her. But then Hin Menners runs out of the crowd, he shouts: “Where!” Where! Come back, fool! There is no happiness in the world! No!". Arthur Gray comes ashore. He approaches Assol.
Arthur Gray. Hello, my child.
Assol. Hello.
Arthur Gray. What is your name, beautiful flower?
Assol. Assol.
Arthur Gray. Assol, weren't you waiting for me all these years?
Assol. I've been waiting for you all these years... Tell me your name, prince charming.
Arthur Gray. Arthur Gray.
Assol. Arthur Gray... Dear Arthur, will we take my father Longren with us?
Arthur Gray. Of course, my child. I'll do whatever you want. Thanks to you, I understood one truth.
Assol. What truth, my dear Arthur?
Arthur Gray. We must make happiness with our own hands.
Assol. Making happiness with your own hands...
Longren. They will be happy!
Egle. They will be happy!
Arthur Gray. My fellow musicians, a lot of work awaits you.
Zimmer. I told you that we will still play at Assol’s wedding. F sharp major!
Music. A curtain.
END.
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 with sol Assol believed and began to wait... More than once, worried and timid, I went to the seashore, where, having waited for dawn, I very seriously looked out for the ship with the 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 from 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 on the morning of a 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 wait only 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 extinguished, 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 radiant 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!”
It so happened that during the current season I had the opportunity to watch eight performances based on Alexander Green’s story “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 dramatizations of the story 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.
My collection of ships includes musical performances with music by Maxim Dunaevsky (RAMT, Vologda Youth Theater, Perm Theatre, Novosibirsk Globus), 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 real symbol 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. Still, she would be “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 today's success of this beautiful fairy tale, written in the hungry twenties in the Petrograd House of Arts? Green was in poverty at the 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 capture 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. By at least in two performances (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 envied 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 good at 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 (she is 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 was 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 finished.
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 foreign territory by drama theaters has become a constant process, and not solo outings. And both productions received national award: Alexey Lyudmilin (Novosibirsk) received 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 small-scale dramatic performance (“August: Osage County”; Marat Gatsalov received an 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 the Permian performance in the genre of 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 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 walk 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 straight out of a Hollywood movie, and their 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 of the supporting characters are so colorful that when they dress up as other characters, you feel like 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, because it was impossible to understand what kind of strange creatures, it was impossible. 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 carried out with the participation of Mikhail Prokhorov’s charitable foundation, and the condition for the assistance was innovative solutions and technologies, all this is present on stage in huge quantities (performance of the theater’s youth rock band, modern dance, video installations).
In the first act, the story of little Assol is played out with tablet dolls. Eight puppet episodes - a wonderful old fairy 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 hall 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 in pictures, as in a 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 this is what the authors of the play wanted.
Scene from the play. "Theater on Spasskaya" (Kirov).
Photo by S. Brovko
A modern take on 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 artists, then phrases flutter from one to another, or they completely forget about the text and begin to think not 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. At that moment, before my eyes, 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.
