THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!
(TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU)
AMERICAN EX-PAT BRINGS RUSSIAN THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS TO NORTH AMERICAN CINEMAS THIS FALL
STAGE RUSSIA HD brings beauty, sweep, and passion of
Russian theater to North American audiences beginning in September
JUNE 27, 2016 | MOSCOW, RUSSIA – The brainchild of an American ex-pat, living in Moscow, STAGE RUSSIA HD is bringing the best of classic and contemporary Russian theater to cinemas in cities across the U.S., beginning with the Vakhtangov Theatre’s sumptuous production of Alexander Pushkin’s Eugene Onegin, and followed by the Moscow Art Theatre’s vision of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.
The inaugural season calls for eight high definition (HD) quality productions to be distributed by SpectiCast Entertainment across North America beginning in September.
Eddie Aronoff, an American with Russian roots, who came to Moscow in 2008 to teach English, is the unlikely founder of the project.
“Stage Russia wasn’t my plan eight years ago, or even two years ago, to be honest,” Aronoff said. “At first there was the idea of bringing over small, innovative theater productions to U.S. stages, but that proved to be logistically impossible, given Russia’s repertory system. It dawned on me, though, that that system, with its deep reservoir of high quality productions, was actually an ideal one for filming. The Russian theater community here in Moscow quickly embraced the concept, and off we went.”
The STAGE RUSSIA HD season kicks off with the Vakhtangov Theatre’s highly acclaimed Eugene Onegin. Kirill Krok, Managing Director of the Vakhtangov, has thrown his full support behind the intercultural project. “After the huge success of our North American tour in New York, Boston and Toronto two years ago, it was clear to us that the impression of Russian theater was strong and appreciated. We’re very happy to be part of a project that brings our productions to a wider audience.”
In addition to Eugene Onegin and The Cherry Orchard, other planned filmed performances include Anzhelika Kholina’s gorgeous dance production of Anna Karenina, Kama Ginkas’s version of Chekhov’s The Black Monk, Sergei Zhenovach’s staging of Nikolai Erdman’s dark comedy The Suicide, and Galina Volchek’s staging of Erich Maria Remarque’s Three Comrades. The first broadcast will take place in September 2016; the last in June 2017.
STAGE RUSSIA HD has teamed with Alexey Shemyatovsky’s Kinematika Film Studio to shoot and transmit the plays. Six cameras are utilized to capture every nuance of a performance and all the productions are filmed with a live audience, then edited, and presented in cinemas in Russian with English subtitles.
Stage Russia HD presentations will be seen in the United States initially in: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, OR, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and the Washington, DC area, and in Canada, in Toronto. More cities will be added throughout the summer.
