First-Time Producer Brings Russian Theatre to Newton

NEWTON, MA – When Eddie Aronoff moved to Russia eight years ago, he knew next to nothing about Russian theatre.

In fact, the former New York business owner and part-time playwright transplanted himself across the globe to teach English, and his on-and-off residency in Moscow left very little time to explore Russia's stage history.

But at the behest of a friend, Aronoff attended a production he was promised would be worthwhile, and he left with an idea.

"I had the idea of bringing live Russian theatre to New York," Aronoff told Patch. "And hold synagogue tours to bring the plays from city to city."

While the idea resulted in a limited off-Broadway run, it ultimately didn't take off. Undeterred, Aronoff decided to start filming the performances and teamed up with filmmaker Alexei Shemyatobskiy. The two began filming at Russia's Vakhtangov Theatre before expanding to include the breadth of Russian acts.

Now, Aronoff is bringing his production, Stage Russia, to West Newton.

Stage Russia will screen two Russian plays, "Eugene Onegin" and "The Cherry Orchard," at the West Newton Cinema this fall.

Both screenings are hosted by the Arlekin Players, a Boston-based Russian theater troupe that has toured in New York, Hartford and Chicago. The first, "Eugene Onegin," will be held Thursday night and stars Russian stage veteran Sergey Makovetskiy.

Adapted from the play by Alexander Pushkin, the Vakhtangov performance reimagines the characters and shifts between past and present and reality and imagination in a production hailed as "exuberant, indelible and arrestingly beautiful" by The New York Times.

Stage Russia follows up Nov. 30 with "The Cherry Orchard," starring Russian theatre legend Renata Litvinova. Anton Chekhov's last play before his death, "The Cherry Orchard" tackles the themes of cultural futility as an aristocratic Russian actress sells her family estate to the son of a former serf before the home is auctioned.

Aronoff said that while there is a certain disconnect from witnessing the performances live, the nature of Russian theatre allows him and Shemyatobskiy to create a unique experience for audiences.

"You lose something from not being in a live audience. You can't replicate that," Aronoff said. "But what you can do is provide a feeling of being in the front row of any theater at any time, and there's some great moments in productions, especially Russian, that have more of a visceral sense where you're experiencing it through your soul versus your intellect. For Russian theatre in particular, it works because it allows you to get up close to the action."

Though Aronoff produced the project, he said even he was surprised by its scale. He credited his filmmaker with bringing the production to life – hiring camera operators, shooting various angles and editing the footage together for a final product he praised as "really well-done and beautiful."

"It's such a kick," he said. "When Alexei agreed to do this, I just assumed he'd bring in these camcorders. The first day we're shooting, I see these six giant cameras and wires all over the place and I was like, 'Wow, this is my production.'"

Aronoff said he believes Stage Russia isn't just for fans of Russian theatre, but for anyone with the theatre bug looking to experience a new culture.

"I think as the world becomes smaller with the Internet, it's a little easier for culture to spread," Aronoff said. "Frankly, I think the Russian community here is somewhat underserved and there's an opportunity for Russian culture to be spread to the western world. It's one of those things where I think if you see it and you like theatre in general, you see these writers and directors have had an effect on theatre."

Both productions are in Russian with English subtitles. For tickets, call 617-942-0022 or follow the links below:

Eugene Onegin - Oct. 27

The Cherry Orchard - Nov. 30