Russian singer Larisa Dolina sang the role of Matron “Mama” Morton in the musical Chicago (Photo via Russkaya Reklama)
Russian singer Larisa Dolina performed on Broadway in the musical Chicago unbeknownst to the general public, even among Russians.
Broadway posters did not say anything about it. Her name appeared at the theater box office on the list of performers and on the theater’s Playbill. There was a photo of Dolina and a bio which mentioned that she is a People’s Artist of Russia and winner of various awards.
At an afternoon rehearsal before the evening performance I was convinced that Larisa Dolina actually did fly to New York to play at the Ambassador Theater on Broadway in the musical Chicago in the role of Matron “Mama” Morton. Someone must have put a lot of money into Dolina’s brief debut. She played only eight performances from August 13 to August 18. Didn’t the producers have enough money to put her name on posters and make widespread announcements? Perhaps that wasn’t on their agenda. Maybe they were not trying to impress Americans, but Russians. Were they trying to draw attention to the upcoming show in Moscow?
The troupe was friendly towards their Russian colleague, who came in a black pantsuit and frequently hid her hands in her pockets. Larisa clearly had a problem figuring out what to do with her hands during the conversational scenes. The vocal scenes were easier. She sounded strong and confident. However, the speaking part was worse: she would forget the words in English, and seemed stiff and tense, which she tried to mask with an outwardly relaxed manner. Dolina understood the comments of the director and the conductor, but at times she turned to the translator assigned to her. So that her accent would seem natural to the audience, the director asked Dolina to occasionally make remarks in Russian.
During the break, the singer said that American actors treated her very well, even though in Moscow she was getting ready to face fierce American competition. Everybody here works with a contract, and she took someone else’s place. Moreover, the American actors’ union supports its actors. That is why she was a little afraid to go to New York, but it turned out to be much better than she expected.
When asked how she feels on the Broadway stage, Dolina said, “Just fabulous!”
Other Russian actors who will participate in the new Moscow production – set to open in October – came to New York with Dolina. The actors closely followed what was going on during the rehearsal. Among them was Anastasia Makeeva, who will play the role of Roxie Hart. She also noticed the absence of the Russian guest’s name on the theater posters: “In Russia, the Broadway debut of Larisa Alexandrovna is a huge thing. Both for Russia and for us, the artists, it’s a great milestone.”
“And for Broadway, for New York City, is that also a big event?”
“Yes, of course: ‘What? From Russia? Is there anyone who can compete with us?’ I think the elite Broadway actors are very interested if there is anyone who can cast them out from their comfortable star positions in the future. We were watching a rehearsal, and I caught myself thinking that Larisa did not concede to Americans a bit, and she was absolutely confident communicating with them and that felt right! That is, she feels like a queen on stage. She has earned this crown, this throne on the Broadway stage, and that’s great.”
According to Makeeva, this is not the first project that has gone to Russia from America. “Last year I played in Mamma Mia. And one of the most successful musicals today is The Little Mermaid, which, to be honest, is Disney. The musical Beauty and the Beast was another success: 41 shows a month. Thousands of spectators attended shows throughout the whole season. It is a huge indicator of success. Unfortunately, this trend is alien to traditional Russian repertory theaters. That’s where seats are empty…”
After all the scenes with Dolina were completed – her solos, dialogues, duets, group scenes and the curtain call – the director said to her: “Now, welcome to Broadway!”