Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original plays, Ostrovsky "almost single-handedly created a Russian national repertoire." His dramas are among the most widely read and frequently performed stage pieces in Russia.
Mikhail Semyonovich Shchepkin was the most famous Russian Empire actor of the 19th century. He is considered the "father" of realist acting in Russia and, via the influence of his student, Glikeriya Fedotova, a major influence on the development of the 'system' of Konstantin Stanislavski. Shchepkin's significance to the Theatre of Russia is comparable to that of David Garrick to the English theatre.
Sadowski, Sadovsky, or Sadouski is a common Polish or Belarusian surname. It means "from the orchard" or "from Sadow". Alternative spellings include the Belarusian and Lithuanian (Sadauskas) versions; as well as Sadowsky, Sodowsky, Sadovsky and Sandusky.
Maly Theatre is a theatre in Moscow, Russia, principally associated with the production of plays. Established in 1806 and operating on its present site on the Theatre Square since 1824, the theatre traces its history to the Moscow University drama company, established in 1756. In the 19th century, Maly was "universally recognized in Russia as the leading dramatic theatre of the century", and was the home stage for Mikhail Shchepkin and Maria Yermolova. 40 of Alexander Ostrovsky's 54 plays premiered at Maly, and the theatre was known as The House of Ostrovsky. The Maly Theatre in Moscow and Alexandrinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg "to a great extent determined the development of Russian theatre during the 19th and 20th century".
The Storm is a drama in five acts by the 19th-century Russian playwright Aleksandr Ostrovsky. As with Ostrovsky's other plays, The Storm is a work of social criticism, which is directed particularly towards the Russian merchant class.
Without a Dowry is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky that premiered on 22 November [O.S. 10 November] 1878 at the Maly Theater and first published in the January 1879 issue of Otechestvennye Zapiski. Met with indifference by the contemporary critics, later it came to be regarded as a classic of the Russian theatre. Yakov Protazanov directed a cinematic adaptation, Without a Dowry, which was released in 1937, and Eldar Ryazanov also adapted it into a popular 1984 film.
The Poor Bride is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky, written in 1851 and first published in the No.4, 1852 issue of Moskvityanin magazine. It was his second play to be staged at the Maly Theatre, where it premiered on 20 August 1853.
It's a Family Affair-We'll Settle It Ourselves is a comedy by Alexander Ostrovsky. It was his first major work, written in 1849 and published in the No.6 1850 Moskvityanin issue. Having caused a furore, it was banned by the Imperial Theatres' censorship committee and was staged for the first time on 9 December 1860, ten years after its publication. For some time the play has been also referred to as The Bankrupt, which was its original title.
Stay in Your Own Sled is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky, written in 1852 and first published in the No.5, 1853, issue of Moskvityanin. It was the first of his plays to be given a theatrical production, as Russian government censorship had previously confined his plays to print or readings in private houses. The play premiered in the Maly Theatre on January 14, 1853.
Poverty is No Vice is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky, written in 1853 and published as a separate edition in the early 1854. It was premiered in Moscow's Maly Theatre on January 25, 1854 and in Saint Petersburg's Alexandrinsky Theatre on September the 9th.
Live Not as You Would Like To is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky. It premiered on 3 December 1854 at the Moscow's Maly Theatre and was published for the first time in the No. 17, September 1855 issue of Moskvityanin magazine.
A Protégée of the Mistress is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky, first published in the No.1, January 1859 issue of Biblioteka Dlya Chteniya. Refused the permission to be produced at the Imperial Theatres in October 1859, it premiered in Maly Theatre, Moscow, only on October 21, 1863.
Sin and Sorrow Are Common to All is a four-act drama by Alexander Ostrovsky, written in 1862 and published on the No. 1, 1863 issue of Vremya magazine, edited by the Dostoyevsky brothers. It premiered in the Maly Theatre in Moscow, on 21 January 1863, as a benefit for director Alexander Bogdanov. Later that year, Ostrovsky was awarded the Uvarov Prize for it.
An Ardent Heart is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky written in 1858 and first published in the January 1869 issue of Otechestvennye Zapiski. It was premiered on 15 January 1869, at the Moscow's Maly Theatre and then on 29 January at the Saint Petersburg's Alexandrinsky Theatre.
The Forest is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky written in 1870 and first published in the January 1871 issue of Otechestvennye Zapiski magazine. It was premiered at Saint Petersburg's Alexandrinsky Theatre on 1 November 1871, as a benefit for actor Fyodor Burdin. In Moscow's Maly Theatre it was performed on November 26, 1871.
Talents and Admirers is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky premiered on December 20, 1881, in Maly Theatre. The author started working upon this 4-act comedy in August 1881 and finished it on December 6 of that year.
Nadezhda Vasilyevna Rykalova was a Russian stage actress, best known for her Maly Theatre performances in plays by Alexander Ostrovsky, who created the Kabanikha character especially for her.
Sergey Vasilyevich Vasilyev was a prominent Russian stage actor, a mid-19th century star of the Moscow Maly Theatre.
Light Without Heat is a five-act play by Alexander Ostrovsky, based upon the play The Broken Happiness by his friend, a fellow dramatist Nikolai Solovyov, which Ostrovsky re-worked. It premiered at the Moscow Maly Theatre on 6 November 1880 and first appeared in print in 1881, in Ogonyok magazines, as the Ostrovsky and Solovyov's joint work.
Yelizaveta Mikhailovna Sadovskaya was Russian and Soviet actress, Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1927).
