Masha (play)

The play tells about the relationship between two people: the old academic Okaemov and his fifteen-year-old granddaughter Masha. When they meet for the first time, the relatives treat each other coolly, but gradually true friendship emerges between them. Okaemov once again feels the joy of life, and young Mashenka, thanks to the support of adults, overcomes the life's troubles that he had to face at such an early age.

Act I

Scene One

By the seventy-year-old academic paleographer Okaemova, his granddaughter Masha arrives. Masha's father died, and her mother is trying to create a new family. The girl bothers her, and then she is sent to her grandfather. Okaemov, accustomed to loneliness, does not understand how to proceed. Leonid Kareev, a cheerful, always hurrying and slightly dispersed geologist, rushes into the apartment of the academician. He immediately reports that Okaemov was incredibly lucky, while he himself runs off after his new acquaintance, singing teacher Nina Alexandrovna, who by chance turned out to be a neighbor of Okaemov. Kareev immediately organizes Masha's audition, and Nina agrees to teach her, finding Masha's voice pleasant and her hearing good.

Scene Two

A few days later Masha settled in the house Okaemova and found new friends in the school. Okaemov, summoned to the parent meeting, stretched the ligaments on his leg and is now sick. He is visited by Dr. Tumansky, a frivolous man in love and successful in life. His son Victor, almost a copy of his father's habit, tells Masha that she loves her, seeks reciprocal recognition and demands that Masha write him a letter about her love. Tumansky meets Nina and begins wooing, despite the fact that he is already in a relationship with another woman. Leonid Kareev, having learned about it, refuses his own dream of conquering Nina and starts to avoid her.

Scene Three

Okaemov, having learned that Masha does not have a warm fur coat, decides to sell several of her rare books. Masha, meanwhile, is afraid to come home: it turns out that Victor argued that Masha would write him a letter of love, and having gotten hers for a laugh, read it before the class. Leonid is still confident that Nina is fascinated by Tumansky and will soon marry him. Believing this, Okaemov decides to influence Tumansky through Nina in order to force Victor to apologize. In a conversation with Nina, it turns out that the relationship between the teacher and Tumansky does not overstep the limits of her friendship, at least on her part. Masha comes back, Okayemov comforts her, saying at the end “We will live. Together".

Act II

Scene Four

Masha asks the teacher to help her earn money in order to return the grandfather's books. Nina agrees, at the same time warning that Masha does not count on easy money from her singing and continues to learn. Tumansky explains with Nina and sees his light on how unpleasant his behavior is and how disastrous his example is acting on his son. He promises that Victor will apologize to Masha. Victor apologizes, and Masha confesses to him that there is no love between them, and she wrote the letter out of pity, thinking that Victor is also lonely and miserable, like she is. The end of the meeting is caught by Masha's schoolmates, who came to Okaemov with an invitation to a festive meeting. Okaemov should speak to young people. At first, not knowing what to say, then the academician decides that he will devote his speech to the changes that have occurred in the life of the country for his long life, from 1870 to 1940, and that he is preparing the future.

Scene Five

New Year celebration. Masha admits to Nina that she loves Leonid. Leonid and Nina confess each other love, and Masha hears it. Sorry, she comes to her grandfather, who comforts her. Nina brings the books purchased by Okaemova thanks to the Machine Labor and her small contribution, they are decided to present the academician as a New Year's gift. All relatives, friends and acquaintances gather around the common table and celebrate the New Year to the chiming clock.

Act III

Scene Six

Spring is coming. Masha successfully performs at a city concert. Okaemov warns her about the danger of intoxication with the success and attention of the public. Leonid Kareev informs friends that he and Nina had a daughter, who was also named Masha. At this moment, Masha's mother, Vera Mikhailovna, returns, whose new family life has never been formed. He picks up his daughter from his grandfather, leaving him alone again.

Scene Seven

School comrades Masha suggest that Okaemova write an article in the Komsomol newspaper accusing Vera Mikhailovna of improperly raising her daughter. Okaemov agrees, but Vera Mikhailovna and Tumansky soon arrive. Masha's mother accuses Okaemova that it was he who caused the discord in the family, Tumansky indicates to Vera Mikhailovna that maybe she now makes the same mistake. Okaemov refuses the idea of ​​a newspaper article and writes a letter to Masha, who will make her stay with her mother. But Masha herself comes to her grandfather and reminds of the imminent beginning of his lecture. Okaemov, who did not know what to talk about, now decides to devote his performance to the art of being parents.

The list is given by the publication Afinogenov A. N. Favorites. - Moscow: Soviet writer, 1951.

• Okayemov Vasily Ivanovich , 70 years.
• Masha is his granddaughter, 15 years old.
• Tumansky Pavel Pavlovich , 43 years old.
• Victor is his son, 16 years old.
• Nina Alexandrovna , 30 years old.
• Leonid Borisovich , 35 years old.
• Motya , 50 years old.
• Vera Mikhailovna , 38-40 years old.
• Students:

  Senya , 16 years old

  Lelia , 16 years old

  Galya , 13 years old

The play was written by Afinogenov in 1940 ^[1] and first published in 1941 ^{[2] [3]} . In the late 1930s, Afinogenov became the object of slander and criticism, and it was then that the idea arose of writing a play about an old man and his granddaughter, in which good people would act and real friendship existed. Originally the play was intended for children. Work on it was carried out in 1938-1939, by the summer of 1940 the first version appeared, called "April". Then, by the end of the year, Afinogenov reworked the play for the Mossovet Theater, changing the name to Mashenka, and handed it over for the production. In the course of work on the future performance, a third version was born ^[2] .

The last version was finalized taking into account the peculiarities of the actors who played the roles in the play. As director Yury Zavadsky recalled, Masha was originally very fragile, detached, which did not match the appearance of actress Vera Maretskaya , who embodied her on stage. The author made the necessary changes, and Masha got the current look: lively, spontaneous, stubborn and fun. After all the changes, on March 12, 1941, Afinogenov sent the play to the Committee for the Arts with a request to consider it final. This option was published ^[2] .

The premiere of the performance took place at the Theater of the Moscow Soviet on March 4, 1941, with Vera Maretskaya as Masha and Yevsey Lubimov-Lansky as Okaemova. The staging was carried out by Yury Zavadsky ^[2] . The productions of the play in various theaters continue to the present ^[5] .

The performance immediately fell in love with the audience. He became a theatrical event of his time and for a long time entered the repertoires of the Soviet and many foreign ^[6] theaters. According to critics, the playwright correctly guessed that the search for protagonists of the path to mutual understanding would be close to every person ^[7] . He managed to show the psychology of youth and faithfully recreate the experiences of heroes. At the same time, social changes in the life of the country were not ignored, which had a positive effect on the adoption of the play by the Soviet authorities ^[2] .