The story of the kind and devout milkman Tevye, who lived in the small village of Anatovka at the beginning of the twentieth century. Through a series of family dramas, Tevye tries to preserve his large family. His dialogues with God, full of humor, anger, and humility, become the core of the performance, transforming everyday stories into a philosophical parable about how to preserve humanity in a crumbling world.
In 1989, Mark Zakharov’s production based on Grigory Gorin’s play was released; the play was created based on the story «Tevye the Milkman» by Sholem Aleichem. The soul of this production was Yevgeny Leonov, who created a profound image of Tevye — a cheerful and wise man. After the great actor passed away, the production left the theatre’s repertoire for many years. However, in 2021, «The Memorial Prayer» was carefully restored by the theatre actor and director Alexander Lazarev. The honourable role of continuing the tradition and telling the audience the story of Tevye fell to two performers: Andrey Leonov and Sergey Stepanchenko. The revived production preserves the spirit of Mark Zakharov’s original production and carries within it a special, piercing tone of memory and continuity.
